The last time Penn State saw a wide receiving corps this deep was nine seasons ago.
That was the trio of Deon Butler, Derrick Williams and recent Super Bowl champ Jordan Norwood.
Catching passes from three different quarterbacks from 2005-08, they grabbed nearly 500 passes for over 6,500 yards and 44 touchdowns.
The last time new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead saw a receiving corps this deep was in the Bronx in 2013 – when his Fordham offense had receivers with 93, 89, 85, 66 and 41 receptions.
Or, for Moorhead, maybe it was with Fordham in 2012 (five guys with 41 or more catches)?
Or maybe it was at Fordham in 2014 (receivers with 89, 78, 62 and 43 passes)? Or maybe it was with the Rams last season (a remarkably balanced quintet of 37, 36, 34, 32 and 31 receptions)?
Closer to home, the last time Penn State receivers coach Josh Gattis thought he had a group this deep was last season. And before that? In 2014.
NOT JOSHING
Gattis said it first in August 2014.
It was the coach’s first year at Penn State and the first season after Allen Robinson left and took his back-to-back season caches of 97 and 77 catches with him. That’s when the Nittany Lions returned just two wide receivers who had ever caught a pass in a college game – Geno Lewis (18) and Matt Zanellato (6).
“I think this group will be the most talked about group after the season that no one’s talking about right now,” Gattis said back then. “I think the sky’s the limit. I’ve been around some really good receivers, but I truly feel that this is the deepest and most talented I’ve ever been around as far as the number of guys. We may not have that one or two marquee guy yet. But I think we got a number of guys that can be big-time players in college football.”
As it turned out, DaeSean Hamilton became that marquee guy, grabbing a Big Ten-high 82 passes for 899 yards in a breakout redshirt season in which he was named a freshman All-American. Lewis played to a strong second-billing early, as 25 of his 55 catches came in the first four games. Only one other receiver had more than a dozen grabs on the season – freshman Chris Godwin, with 25, seven of them in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Gattis was even more enthusiastic about the depth of the Penn State receiving group in August 2015.
“We’re going to play up to eight guys at receiver this year,” Gattis said prior to the 2015 season opener. “I’m excited about what the room has. I think the roof is the sky for our room.”
As it turned out, Godwin had a breakout sophomore season, grabbing 69 passes for 1,101 yards, while averaging an impressive 16-yards per catch. Hamilton’s production fell off, as he had 45 grabs for 580 yards, while Lewis had only 17 receptions as he had zero receptions in four games and only one catch in three others.
Overall, only four other Penn State wide receivers caught a pass in 2015, for a total of 18 additional receptions. Sophomore Saaed Blacknall’s eght receptions were truly remarkable, though, as he averaged 31 yards per catch. Fully half came against San Diego State, when he had four receptions for 101 yards. True freshman Brandon Polk had six catches for 57 yards and a TD, while redshirt freshman De’Andre Thompkins had three catches for 33 yards (including a long of 31) and junior Gregg Garrity had one catch for 4 yards.
Head coach James Franklin said at the end of 2015 summer drills that true freshman Juwan Johnson, a stud at 6-4 and 213 pounds last season, was slated to play in 2015. But he never saw action, as was the case with same-sized freshman wideout Irvin Charles. Both starred on the scout team and during drills throughout the 2015 season, while displaying speed, strength and an ability to go get the ball – vertically and very often.
2016 OUTLOOK
Lewis is gone, having opted to play his graduate season at Oklahoma – ala Justin Brown. Polk, Blacknall and Thompkins are all back and add great speed to the Penn State receiving corps. Moorhead likes to put his tight ends in space, which is ideal for athletic junior tight end Mike Gesicki – who came to PSU as more WR than TE – and promising freshman tight end Danny Dalton. All together, they make a potentially formidable set of receiving targets.
So, Gattis may be right. At last.
Last August, Gattis said that, “From top to bottom, this group has a skill set that not many wide receiver corps can match. It’s not about just going out there and telling everybody what it’s about. It’s about production. The end-all, be-all is how we perform on Saturday. I’m looking forward to making that potential turn into production.”
This March, the depth that Gattis predicted seven months hence could very likely come to fruition.
In the up-tempo spread offense Moorhead brought to Penn State with him from Fordham, where as head coach his teams were 38-13, the quarterback’s top task is finding the open receiver. And not focusing on a primary receiver. Or two.
That’s not to say Godwin and Hamilton, who’ve combined for 221 catches for 2,901 yards over the last two seasons, won’t catch the Lions’ share of passes from quarterbacks Trace McSorley, Tommy Stevens and Jake Zembeic in 2016. It’s just that the other guys – some very fast and strong other guys – will get their shot too.
Moorhead’s offense is predicated on the quarterback and all his receivers correctly making the right – i.e., same – read and taking what the defense will give them in 5- and 10-yard chunks. Then, when the time is right, going for the deep shot that was Godwin’s specialty last season.
NOT-SO-AVERAGE JOE NUMBERS
Godwin and Hamilton are already significantly represented on the all-time Penn State receiving charts. Hamilton’s 127 catches rank No. 7 on the career list, and he needs just 53 more over the next two seasons to supplant Butler’s 179 receptions from the No. 1 spot. Godwin is tied for 14th, with 94. Yardage-wise, Hamilton (1,479 yards) ranks 15th and Godwin (1,422) is 17th.
The pair holds two of the top four spots on Penn State’s single-season reception chart. Robinson is first with 97 in 2013, followed Hamilton’s 82 in 2014, Robinson’s 77 in 2012 in 2012 and Godwin’s 69 last season. Those numbers may seem like rarefied air for a Moorhead offense that counts on spreading the ball around.
But then again, maybe not so much.
If you recall, in his four campaigns at Fordham, Moorhead had receivers put up staggering single-season marks for receptions – including 93, 89 (twice), 85, 78 and 72 catches in one year.
Under Joe’s offense, when it comes to receivers, it seems like the Moorhead’s the merrier.
