Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 47 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / W I D E R E C E I V E R S / / / / / / / I f there's one topic I have revisited throughout the offseason, it's been the effort to strengthen Penn State's wide receiver corps. The absence of a truly elite player here creates some significant challenges for the offense. Head coach James Franklin spelled out the need for such a player in his opening press conference of spring practice. "If you look at the NFL, the area where you change the game the fastest is wide receiver," he said. "I think it's something from a common-sense perspective that we have always understood. There's just more space out there. If you get somebody out there who can run past everybody or catch a short ball and make someone miss and go 80, that changes the game. That changes the defense." The Nittany Lions need to find one of those people, someone who can line up and be a threat to go 80 yards from out- side the hash. According to Pro Football Focus, outside receivers generate 41 per- cent more explosive plays than receiv- ers lined up in the slot. Whether it's by beating a cornerback deep or breaking a tackle and going 80 yards, this player must make big plays on a regular basis when given one-on-one matchups. Penn State's offense lacked that capa- bility last year. The team had no credible, consistent deep threats, especially out- side. Top outside receiver Mitchell Tin- sley caught only 4 passes on 17 deep tar- gets, and none of those catches yielded touchdowns. Considering that he only broke 8 tackles on 51 targets, he wasn't making a living that way, either. The team leader in receiving yard- age, Parker Washington, did chip in with 4 catches on about half as many deep targets. According to PFF, he also broke 15 tackles and gained 291 yards after the catch. Washington was lined up in the slot on 71 percent of his snaps. Yards are yards, but when it came to producing big plays in the pass game, Penn State had to do it the hard way. The same problem could recur this fall. While PSU returns last year's top deep target, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, he appears to be ticketed for a move to the slot. Why ask him to change positions? Because Lambert-Smith, who will be a fourth-year junior this fall, struggled with press coverage and wasn't an effi- cient player when stationed out wide. By moving him to the slot, the coaches hope to give him more room to operate. But now we're back where we started. It's more difficult to generate big plays from the slot, which means they occur less frequently. There's simply no sub- stitute for having a dominant outside receiver. And it's not just about the deep pass- ing game. Having a credible outside threat balances the field. "It may impact the running game as much as anything," Franklin said. "If people are concerned that you have a guy they don't feel they can leave in a one- on-one situation, now they're having to use a safety over the top all the time. That will create opportunities in the running game." In college football, the Z receiver tends to be more frequently targeted than the X because of his alignment on the field. Tinsley and his immediate predecessor, Jahan Dotson, operated as Z receivers who were lined up to the long side of the field for most of their snaps. Being on the long side gave them more room to run and left defenses with additional space to cover. One candidate for the Z position this year is sophomore Omari Evans. A for- mer high school quarterback, Evans has been working to become a receiver since enrolling early in 2022. The light may have come on at the end of spring prac- tice. As Franklin noted, "He's got all the tools. We've got to grind through it and get him better at his craft." Evans finished the Blue-White Game with 5 catches for 80 yards and a touch- down. More important, the 6-foot, 185-pounder showed he had the physi- cality to play through contact and get open, even if he had to push off a bit. Evans might be the team's biggest wild card this year. He could either be a rev- elation who changes the dynamic of the whole offense, or he could be a second- year player still working out the kinks. It makes the most sense for redshirt senior transfer Dante Cephas to start at the Z position and for Evans to grow into it. Ultimately, the goal is to have enough credible threats that the defense can't pin the offense down to one game plan. Penn State's offensive line is talented, and the running game proved that it could be a dominant force last season. With a deep set of tight ends in tow and a bevy of slot receivers, the outside re- ceiver position is the only spot left to sort out. If they can do that, we might see something akin to the 2016 season when the Nittany Lions reached the doorstep of the College Football Playoff. So, you know, no pressure. ■ U P O N F U R T H E R R E V I E W THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M To Boost Its Offense, PSU Must Think Outside The Box Omari Evans will have an opportunity to play a greatly expanded role this fall after a true freshman season in which he caught 5 passes for 55 yards while seeing action in all 13 games. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE