Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
4 6 A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 4 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / L ike so many former high school football stars, Penn State wide re- ceiver Kaden Saunders had a sober- ing introduction to the college game. Saunders had been a consensus four- star prospect coming out of Westerville South High in Columbus, Ohio. He was the fourth-rated player in one of coach James Franklin's best recruiting classes, placing 96th overall in the On3 Indus- try Ranking and trailing only five-star prospects Dani Dennis-Sutton, Nicho- las Singleton and Drew Allar among PSU's 2022 signees. He was a two-time all-state choice, an Under Armour All- America Game invitee and Westerville's favorite son, the city's mayor having is- sued an official proclamation declaring Nov. 3, 2021, to be Kaden Saunders Day. Then he arrived in State College and quickly discovered how little those rank- ings and honors actually meant. "I was losing every drill," Saunders said, recalling his first few practices at Penn State in the spring of 2022. "I wasn't used to losing." The 5-foot-10, 176-pound wideout conceded that his humbling start "got to me a little bit," but he didn't need to do much soul-searching to figure out what was happening. "This is what college is," Saunders told himself. "Everybody's good. Everybody's strong and fast. It wasn't high school anymore." It's now been two years since that re- alization, and Saunders is looking to take the next step in his development. He red- shirted as a true freshman and was an occasional contributor on offense last year, totaling 6 catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. This year, the Nittany Lions are going to need a big uptick in the productiv- ity of their returning wide receivers, and Saunders is likely to figure prominently in their plans. Penn State finished 77th in the FBS in passing offense in 2023 with an aver- age of 215 yards per game. In losses to Quick Facts Position coach: Marques Hagans (second season) Returning starter: Harrison Wallace III (6 career starts) Departing starters: KeAndre Lambert-Smith (38), Dante Cephas (6) Projected new starters: Omari Evans, Liam Clifford or Kaden Saunders or Julian Fleming Top reserves: Mehki Flowers, Anthony Ivey, Tyler Johnson Newcomers: Josiah Brown, Tyseer Denmark, Julian Fleming, Peter Gonzalez Saunders had 6 catches for 56 yards and 1 TD last season but is expected to play a bigger role in the offense this fall. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL REACHING FOR THE SKY PSU will rely on returnees like redshirt sophomore Kaden Saunders to get its passing game airborne M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M