As the Nittany Lions continue to try and find explosiveness in their passing attack Penn State will happily welcome the potential return of presumed No. 2 receiver Harrison ‘Trey’ Wallace to the fold as he recovers from an undisclosed injury.
“I think getting Trey back is a huge piece of the puzzle,” Franklin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “I think it helps KeAndre. I think it helps Drew [Allar]. I think it helps our team. I think it helps our offense. I think it helps Coach [Mike] Yurcich in calling the game.”
Heading into the season Wallace was categorized in the same “every down” tier as Lambert-Smith in a tandem 1A and 1B receiver role but picked up an injury against Delaware in the second week of the season that has since prevented Wallace from seeing the field. Franklin has indirectly suggested that Wallace has been medically cleared to return for a while now but Penn State has been waiting for him to return to form on the practice field before inserting him into meaningful snaps.
How accurate that truly was is irrelevant now, but if Wallace can get his legs underneath him this weekend against UMass, he stands to be a big addition for Penn State’s passing attack against Ohio State and onwards.
“I think it will be helpful,” Franklin said, “being able to have Trey back with KeAndre on the field while those other guys are developing those roles, those opportunities and that confidence.”
Prior to his injury Wallace had pulled in 10 receptions, seven of those coming against West Virginia for 72-yards in what remains Penn State’s most prolific passing and explosive game of the year so far. In his absence Penn State has leaned heavily on Lambert-Smith who leads Penn State with 25 receptions for nearly 400 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
The loss of Wallace has only accentuated Penn State’s lack of proven depth at receiver with a hodgepodge of receivers rotating through Penn State’s No. 2 and No. 3 spots with no real apparent and permanent answers in those roles. As a result, even having missed the last three games Wallace is still the only other receiver aside from Lambert-Smith on Penn State’s roster this year with double-digit receptions.
While Penn State’s ball-hogging formula has continued to result in points, the Nittany Lions’ lack of explosiveness has done little help the dynamics of an otherwise competent offense. Penn State sits dead last in the nation when it comes to plays from scrimmage that gain at least 20-30 yards with 12 such plays. The return of Wallace won’t immediately reverse that trend, but it won’t hurt it either.
