Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M end Tyler Warren that they neglected the wideouts. Looking back, Kotelnicki doesn't think that was the case. "It's not like we didn't try to get those guys the ball," he said. "The hard part is — not that you try to make comparisons — but what would people say about us if we didn't target Tyler Warren a whole [lot]? 'Boy, that's really dumb.' "He was the 14th pick in the NFL Draft. Shame on me if I'm not target- ing him almost every time. Was he too much the focal point? I've looked at that. I know, at least in my mind, what the answer to that question is. I'll keep it to myself. But there's a rhyme and a reason to all the things that we do. "So, yeah, we missed a couple throws to those guys, or they had a couple drops. I'm speaking generally. I have to continue to be better for them and help them get open and create more ball dis- tribution, which I think will happen this year because there's more parity. Every- body in our program is getting better." Kotelnicki said Wallace and Evans would have been part of that improve- ment if they had opted to spend their senior seasons in State College. In fact, as Kotelnicki, Franklin and Allar all noted, the expansion of the offense this spring has created opportunities for the receivers beyond what existed last sea- son. The Nittany Lions are expected to spread the passes around more equita- bly this year than in 2024, when War- ren accounted for 36 percent of their catches. "When you lose a guy who was as dominant as Tyler Warren, everybody recognizes that production is going to have to go somewhere," Franklin said. "That production is going somewhere, whether it's going to one guy, two guys or four guys. That's where, with the wide receivers leaving, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. You've got one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and Tyler Warren is moving on. That production is going to have to go some- where. "Now, you've got to take it. That's what's cool about this. The running backs are fighting for it, the tight ends are fighting for it, the wide receivers are fighting for it. But it's there for the tak- ing. Somebody's just got to go take it." Touting both the additions to the Penn State receivers room via the trans- fer portal and the improvement of its returning pass catchers, Kotelnicki said he expects a more diversified pass- ing offense this year. With that goal in mind, the Lions have focused their en- ergy on developing the players still in the program and aren't dwelling on the loss of Wallace and Evans. "Those guys would have had a better year next year because they're a year older, but they're not in our program anymore, so I focus on who's here," Ko- telnicki said. "I'm very excited about the group that we have and the strides that they've taken, collectively in the receivers room. And then you look at the tight ends room, you look at that running backs room and how they're all growing. They've diversified them- selves so much athletically. I think it's going to be really fun to find ways to distribute the ball." ■ PENN STATE'S OFFSEASON TRANSFER MOVES COMING Name Pos. Elig. Ht. Wt. Previous School Amare Campbell LB Jr. 6-0 231 North Carolina Kyron Hudson WR R-Sr. 6-1 215 USC King Mack S Jr. 5-10 187 Alabama Trebor Peña WR R-Sr.+ 5-10 186 Syracuse Devonte Ross WR Sr. 5-10 170 Troy TJ Shanahan Jr. IOL R-So. 6-4 316 Texas A&M Owen Wafle DT R-Fr. 6-2 295 Michigan Enai White DE R-Jr. 6-5 275 Texas A&M GOING Name Pos. Elig. Ht. Wt. New School Jerry Cross TE R-Jr. 6-5 275 Memphis T.A. Cunningham DT R-Fr. 6-5 289 Garden City CC Omari Evans WR Sr. 6-0 190 Washington Mehki Flowers DB R-Jr. 6-0 194 Akron Tyler Johnson WR So. 6-0 183 East Carolina Chase Meyer K Sr. 5-10 181 California Cam Miller CB Sr. 6-0 190 Rutgers Tyrece Mills S R-Sr. 6-1 210 Connecticut Jon Mitchell CB R-Fr. 5-11 195 Georgia Tech Joseph Mupoyi DL R-Fr. 6-5 261 North Carolina JB Nelson OL Sr. 6-5 325 Kansas State Beau Pribula QB Gr. 6-2 212 Missouri Ta'Mere Robinson LB R-So. 6-3 223 USC Smith Vilbert DE R-Sr. 6-6 282 North Carolina Harrison Wallace III WR Sr. 6-1 198 Ole Miss Harrison Wallace III left for Ole Miss in January after totaling 46 catches for 720 yards as a redshirt junior at Penn State. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL