Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
4 8 A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 5 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern STARTERS ★★★ Penn State's success in landing Syracuse transfer Trebor Peña this spring signifies it's serious about competing for a national cham- pionship in 2025. Peña caught 84 passes for 941 yards and 9 touchdowns for the Orange as a redshirt junior last season and will likely slide into the slot position alongside two other senior transfers: X receiver Kyron Hudson, formerly of USC, and Z receiver Devonte Ross, formerly of Troy. With those additions, Penn State has completed a thorough transforma- tion of its receivers room from last year. EXPERIENCE ★★★★ The Lions' revamped wide receiver corps has plenty of experience, but most of it is at other schools. Peña saw action in 41 games at Syra- cuse, while Hudson and Ross have played in 39 games apiece at USC and Troy, respectively. The only returning wideout with that kind of experience is redshirt senior Liam Clifford, who has seen action in 40 games at PSU. DEPTH ★★ The biggest concern here is that Penn State does not seem to have a solid backup plan for Hudson at the X position. Hudson played almost all of the snaps for the Blue team dur- ing the Blue-White Game and was replaced by redshirt freshman Josiah Brown for just six reps. On the White team, redshirt junior Anthony Ivey took most of the team's X snaps, fol- lowed by true freshman Matt Outten. That is a shockingly inexperienced and unproven depth chart behind Hudson. While the former Trojan flashed his potential during spring ball, his transition to a starting or potentially starring role is still unknown. And what lies behind him is even more unproven. OVERALL GRADE ★★★ Penn State answered some of the questions surrounding the receiver corps by bringing Peña aboard. He'll need to work hard during summer workouts to integrate himself into the offense and build chemistry with senior quarterback Drew Allar, but his addition, coupled with the arrival in January of Hudson and Ross, signals that PSU is going to do what it takes to address its deficiencies. In previous years, the team might have tried to get by with unproven veterans in the hope that they would be able to step forward when given a chance. This year, the Lions have left less to chance. Their all-in roster-building moves are a result of the oft-touted "align- ment" between James Franklin and athletics director Patrick Kraft. Still, plenty of questions remain. It's a brighter picture than in February, but not to the point where the wide receivers can be considered a team strength. With 18 catches for 286 yards last fall, redshirt senior Liam Clifford is Penn State's top returning wide receiver. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS BY THE NUMBERS 1st Trebor Peña's rank among ACC receivers with his 84 catches last season. That total was 13th-highest in the FBS and was the fifth-best single-season mark in Syracuse history. His 941 receiving yards ranked 10th in school history. 2 Touchdown catches last year by Penn State receivers who are returning in 2025. Liam Clifford and Tyseer Denmark caught 1 scoring pass apiece. 102 Total catches by Penn State wide receivers last season. That's two fewer than tight end Tyler War- ren had by himself, and it's only 34.9 per- cent of Penn State's 292 catches as a team. Returning players Clifford, Denmark and Anthony Ivey accounted for 21 of those receptions. PERSONNEL POSITION COACH Marques Hagans: Hagans is entering his third season with the Nittany Lions. He came to Penn State after spending the pre- vious 12 seasons at Virginia, his alma mater. During his long tenure with the Cavaliers, Hagans coached the receivers and spent one season (2022) as the associate head coach. A Hampton, Va., native, Hagans ranks 10th in Virginia history with 4,877 career passing yards. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams and spent three seasons in the NFL before moving into the coaching ranks in 2011 as a graduate assistant at Virginia. RETURNING SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS JOSIAH BROWN R-Fr. | 5-11 | 180 • Did not see action for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman last fall. • Had his senior season at Malverne (N.Y.) High cut short by an ACL tear but totaled 589 all-purpose yards and 8 touchdowns before getting hurt. LIAM CLIFFORD R-Sr. | 6-1 | 206 • Started 11 of 16 games in 2024, totaling 18 receptions for 286 yards and a touchdown, • Played in 13 games with one start in 2023, totaling 13 catches for 130 yards. • Caught 8 passes for 89 yards while appear- ing in 12 games as a sophomore in 2022. • Didn't see action in 2021, preserving his freshman eligibility. • Finished his career at St. Xavier (Ohio) High as the school's all-time leader in recep- tions (166), receiving yards (2,538) and receiving touchdowns (30). TYSEER DENMARK R-Fr. | 5-10 | 187 • Played 43 snaps on offense as a true freshman last fall, catching 2 passes for 28 yards and a touchdown. • Scored touchdowns on 3 of his 4 catches in the Big 33 Classic in May 2024, finish- ing with 95 yards and winning Pennsyl- vania Most Valuable Player honors in the team's 31-7 victory over Maryland. • Had 28 catches for 330 yards and 4 touch- downs as a senior at Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia.