Penn State’s wide receivers prove they’re up to the task in win over West Virginia

KeAndre Lambert-Smith stood on the grass in Beaver Stadium, patiently listening to and answering questions for a television interview with NBC shortly after he and Penn State defeated West Virginia 38-15.

A few yards away, with his back turned to Lambert-Smith’s, Drew Allar was doing the same with another television interview. Much of the attention for those conversations has gone to Allar this offseason. He has been the assumed starter since January and was expected to be a star.

Saturday night was his stage, with his debut stealing the show. But he wasn’t the only one to make his mark on the field.

His top wide receiver had his moment in the spotlight too, earning those cameras pointed his way, and so did his second receiver, Harrison Wallace III.

Lambert-Smith and Wallace showed they can be the No. 1 and 2 receiver in Penn State’s offense, raising the ceiling for what was already one of the best teams in the country.

The receiver group spent the offseason putting in the work with their new signal caller to make sure they were ready to go by the time Saturday night rolled around.

“Like I’ve been telling y’all for a while, we’ve been putting in a great amount of (work),” Lambert-Smith said. “Getting up, most of the time during the off week when it’s not mandatory. Just getting up and building that chemistry. I’m not surprised about the way that we’re clicking.”

Lambert-Smith made his mark early on, showing off that chemistry. On the team’s fourth offensive play of the game, and second pass attempt, Allar was forced to scramble to make something happened. Lambert-Smith cleared his defender and had room to run.

It was in that moment, as Allar stepped toward the line of scrimmage, that the receiver knew he would get his chance.

“I had a post route,” Lambert-Smith said. “I don’t think it was necessarily supposed to come to me ... But when I turned around I just looked up and Drew picked his head up ... and he was scrambling, looking at me. It was kind of like we locked eyes for a quick second. I’m like ‘Throw it.’ And he put it on the money. He threw a rope. I’m like ‘oh.’ Caught it, it’s over. Ballgame.”

He later capitalized again, hauling in the second of his two touchdowns in the red zone on a ball in the corner of the end zone. The junior receiver finished his night with four catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Wallace’s impact was more subtle, hauling in seven of his eight targets for 72 yards, consistently making plays when he was called upon.

This was Wallace’s first game as one of the clear-cut top players in the receiving room, but he felt ready to go, despite not having been in that position before.

“I just feel like the work me and the receivers put in as a whole in the offseason and going against our defense, like I said earlier, just set me up to come out and have a positive season and do as much as I can to help the team get a win,” Wallace said.

One of the advantages he and Lambert-Smith had was the frequency that West Virginia ran Cover 0, a coverage where the defense plays man coverage and the rest of the defenders blitz. That put the Nittany Lions’ playmakers in one-on-one situations where they could take advantage of the defense.

Wallace said there was some appeal to knowing when that was coming.

“When we see it, we kind of get excited,” Wallace said. “Because we know the ball is coming to the receivers.”

The Mountaineers’ coverage didn’t work against the duo of receivers and that allowed them to dice up the defense with a quarterback they knew would get them the ball. As this season approached, there was reason to believe that would be the case.

The frequency with which Penn State head coach James Franklin mentioned the duo was notable and at the end of Saturday night, they backed up his words with their play.

The Nittany Lions came into this year without a proven commodity and with questions at wide receiver.

After one warm summer night in Beaver Stadium, those questions have already been answered by Lambert-Smith and Wallace. Ask the latter about the former and you’ll find out why.

“I definitely see something different in him this year,” Wallace said with a smile. “... How he came out there and put on a show today. ... He’s just showing that he has that dog in him and he’s gonna do what he has to do to show it.”