During Penn State football's 2023 season, it was clear last season that the wide receiver corps was Penn State's weakest position group on the team. The Nittany Lions struggled to hit the deep ball consistently, lacked explosive plays and ranked 97th in the country in plays of 20 yards or more.
As Penn State's spring practice began, coach James Franklin said this was a problem of the past.
In Drew Allard's first season as Penn State's starting quarterback, he struggled to surpass 2,500 passing yards and finished 55th nationally in that category. Wide receiver Keandre Lambert-Smith, returning for his redshirt senior season, had 673 yards receiving for Penn State, along with tight ends Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren, running back Nick Singleton, and wide receiver Kiandre Lambert-Smith. Dante Cephas followed.
Since then, Cephas Transferred to Kansas,and Johnson to NFLOnly three of last season's top five pass catchers return.
But Penn State has a new offensive coordinator in Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas, wide receivers coach Marquez Hagans returns for a second season, and the Nittany Lions have added depth and experience to the position through the transfer portal. is added. Addition of Julian Fleming.
As a Buckeye, Fleming had 79 receptions, 963 yards, and seven touchdowns in four seasons in Columbus, while surrounded by NFL talent like Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Marvin Harrison Jr. Scored a touchdown.
“He brings an element of experience and maturity that I think has been really good. He's approached things the right way since he stepped on campus,” Franklin said of Fleming. “We needed to have enough competition in every position to bring out the best. [the wide receivers] But so are we as a team. I think Julian helped me with that. ”
Franklin also said he is pleased with the overall talent of the receiver room, as evidenced by Fleming being the only transfer addition at the position.
“I didn't really feel like I needed to do a whole lot in the transfer portal,” Franklin said. “If you look at the athleticism and testing numbers of our players, I think they are better than anywhere else in the country.”
Meke Flowers is also new to the receiver room, as Franklin said he and his father decided to transition from safety to wide receiver at the end of last season. Franklin said he was happy with the position change, as Flowers was hired as a two-way player.
“He was explosive on both sides of the ball and was an athlete with a lot of talent and ball skills,” Franklin said. “We were happy with that because we recruited him in a way where we felt he could help and play on either side of the ball.”
The offense needs explosiveness, and with Kotelnicki as the new offensive coordinator, Franklin seems optimistic about the Nittany Lions' growth from last season to next.
“I think one of the things we can do to complement the run game and play-action passing is create explosive plays and spread the field and have them defend the whole field,” Franklin said. “It's…a combination of what they were able to do at Kansas and what we've been able to do the last few games. Playing action passes, specifically motion, chips, formations, bunches, stacks, man coverage. Make it more challenging for people.”
