Heading into last Saturday’s meeting against Ohio, Penn State coach James Franklin was hopeful that the Nittany Lions could expand the depth of their receivers room as the season went along.
By the end of the day, 17 different players caught passes from quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Drew Allar. Obviously not all 17 players were receivers and of course one game against Ohio does not solve all of one’s problems, but meaningful reps are no less worthwhile for a group looking to leave its mark on the season.
“I think that’s expanding,” Franklin said of the team’s receiving depth. “Getting Jaden Dottin back has expanded that. Omari [Evans] is a guy that’s really starting to come on and gain some confidence as well. Kaden Saunders has been able to get in and play a little bit. So the list is expanding, but I would say from a rotation and a tap standpoint, probably still the same.”
While you could really take your pick from the host of receivers who saw the field from Harrison Wallace to Malick Meiga, it was the speedster and former track standout Evans who turned heads in just one play — a 32-yard sprint to the end zone to catch a perfectly placed throw from Allar in the second half. It was a thing of beauty to watch Evans burn right past his poor unsuspecting — or perhaps suspecting but ill equipped — corner and race free toward an equally beautiful pass from his freshman counterpart.
“He’s got some skills and talents that aren’t really coachable,” Franklin said of Evans. “You know, God-given talents, skills and ability in terms of speed. He was a guy we were able to get in camp and get a true evaluation on in the recruiting process and did extremely well and some of those things are starting to show up. …He has not played a lot of wide receiver in his life, so this development was important. But more than anything, it’s knowing the system inside and out, understanding defenses and getting in the weight room to get strong enough to develop the size that he was going to need.
“Because speed was never going to be an issue for him. It was all about strength and wide receiver fundamentals and techniques and understanding defenses, strengths, weaknesses and how we want to attack. Those types of things. Voids and zones and how to change and modify rounds based on man coverage.”
Of course blowing past someone in the non-conference schedule and being ready to make it against Ohio State are two very different things. That said Penn State showed on Saturday in more ways than one that Mitchell Tinsley, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Parker Washington aren’t the only options the Nittany Lions have moving forward. If they’re able to make an impact against Auburn remains to be seen — Harrison Wallace is from Alabama and may see time — but however the rotation works out, depth is never a bad thing to have in progress.
Not to mention speed with that depth.
“I think with Omari, it has been cool to be able to see his speed come out in full form when he knows what he’s doing and he’s playing fast,” Clifford said earlier this week. “That’s the key for the young guys. You have a lot of talent; it’s all about knowing what you’ve got to do with that talent to make the play. And I think Omar is really starting to pick it up. The faster he plays the more he’s gonna be able to benefit and this team’s gonna be able to benefit from him. So I think he’s definitely trending in the right direction. I’m excited for him.”
