Lined up in the backfield, Penn State running back Kaytron Allen took the handoff from Drew Allar and burst upfield.
He flew past tight end Andrew Rappleyea, who had flattened an FIU defensive back to the ground. He weaved by tight end Khalil Dinkins, who had bulldozed a 210-pound defender 10 yards downfield and out of bounds. He skirted down the sideline, where wide receivers Trebor Peña and Kyron Hudson met him, running stride for stride as a convoy. Each wideout threw a block before Allen rumbled into the end zone, where Hudson joined him for his signature “kicking down the door” celebration.
The Nittany Lions’ offense has put an emphasis this season on doing the little things that make big plays possible. For wideouts and tight ends, that often means springing a run with a key downfield block, something that’s become a source of pride.
“We just hold them accountable when they don’t,” wide receivers coach Marques Hagans said. “So we celebrate it in practice, and we watch it on film, we point it out, we celebrate it. And when the guys don’t block for their teammates, then we hold them accountable. And there’s accountability for it. “
The attitude starts in the meeting room and shows up on Saturdays. Hagans has instilled a standard of physicality in the receiver room, allowing the receivers to make an impact even when they aren’t showing up on the stat sheet.
“Does that always happen 100% of the time? No, but that is the intent of every play,” Hagans said. “We’re going to do whatever is required on the perimeter for the guys to get to the second level. And guys take pride in that. That is a big part of who we are. in our room.”
Head coach James Franklin has taken notice of the group’s growth in that area, crediting both the effort and mindset shift.
“I think there’s been a real change in our wide receivers in terms of their effort in blocking the run game,” head coach James Franklin said. “It’s hard to develop receivers sometimes as blockers, because they very rarely do it right? … We’re going to need to continue to do that.”
The mindset is evident throughout the offense, especially in the tight end group, where Luke Reynolds has emerged as a willing and capable blocker. While Khalil Dinkins is viewed as the more polished blocker, it’s an area Reynolds has learned after spending most of his high school career at quarterback and safety.
Reynolds said he’s close friends with many of the team’s running backs, and being around that group has ingrained a sense of urgency in his blocking game.
“(It) just shifted my perspective, knowing that it’s my job to do it,” Reynolds said. “I have to do it at a high level, because if I don’t, the rest of the offense suffers.”
Reynolds has developed his technique and built confidence by consistently going against what he called “the best defense in the country” during practice.
Despite arriving to the room this offseason, Devonte Ross said he and the other wide receiver transfers — Hudson and Trebor Peña — “take pride in blocking.”
Ross said Liam Clifford, his hotel roommate when the team travels, helped implant the blocking mentality in the newcomers.
“It’s something that may go unnoticed a little bit, but it’s something that he prides himself on, and he’s very unselfish,” Ross said. “He’s definitely somebody who’s helped me since I’ve been here, just with getting acclimated to, you know, Penn State and how they do things around here.”
