Penn State’s WRs struggled in the Peach Bowl. Is that a sign of things to come in 2024?
No snaps for Dante Cephas. One drop on the only target for KeAndre Lambert-Smith. An injury forcing Harrison Wallace III to leave the game early.
Penn State’s top receivers have struggled all season, and Saturday’s performance in the 38-25 Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss summed up their 2023 performance — Cephas was too unreliable, Lambert-Smith was too inconsistent, and Wallace was hurt far too often.
None of the three said anything after the game, with only Lambert-Smith made available in the postgame locker room. But he declined to comment when asked if he had time for questions.
The only person available to speak for the team’s top three wideouts — a trio that caught only four passes, all of which came in the fourth quarter — and how they played this season, was wide receivers coach Marques Hagans.
“We’ve just got to continue to do a better job of, I keep hearing it, creating separation,” Hagans said. “And we’ve just gotta make more plays.”
Cephas’ lack of involvement was notable, given he had 11 of his 22 catches over the final three weeks over the regular season.
So, why didn’t Cephas play? Hagans said that decision, and all playing-time decisions, are based on how players perform in practice.
“Guys at practice, who can be counted on to do certain things and who gives us the best chance to win,” Hagans said. “I know what you guys are asking me, but just trying to focus on accountability of how guys practice and who gives us the best chance to win.”
Penn State head coach James Franklin said it was more about open competition.
“Everything’s an open competition every week, and the depth chart reflects that. Then obviously when you’re in a bowl situation and you’ve got three weeks, there’s a lot of movement that can occur in three weeks,” he said. “Part of that obviously, is having [Harrison Wallace III] back that we had not had for about five weeks this year.”
While neither of those answers are entirely dissimilar, they aren’t exactly alike — and they’re another glimpse into a disjointed room.
It could be easy to put the blame at Hagans’ feet — he is, after all, the room’s leader — but at some point the players have to go out and execute. One of them has to step up to be the on-field leader.
“We’re just young and we need some kids to just grow up,” co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider said. “They’re good enough to be recruited well. It’s time to be an adult a little bit. That’s the word you got to use. You get what you put into it. ... That’s what you love about [Wallace]. You see what he can do for our offense, having him on the field. Hopefully we can get that kid back healthy this spring, and I think he’ll bring some more leadership once we can get him through a full season.”
Success has evaded the room from top to bottom, especially when it comes to creating separation on routes.
A new offensive coordinator could help things. Andy Kotelnicki is officially in charge of the unit with the 2023 season in the books and will install his system — one that has been successful everywhere he’s gone. But he’s going to need help from the receivers, too.
Still, it’s difficult to envision this wide receiver room getting so much better in the offseason that it can reach the level of a College Football Playoff contender. In the modern college football world, that could mean change is coming. Hagans said he hadn’t had any conversations with Cephas about not being back next year, but did not say the same when talking about Lambert-Smith and his future.
“I think everybody has to make their own decision on what the future holds, and no one can control that,” Hagans said. “I think we just have to take it one day at a time. I think right now the focus is just figuring out where to go from here after this loss and how we get better moving forward.”
For all of his inconsistencies, Lambert-Smith still spent most of the year as the top option. If he departs, there is a hefty chunk of production that has to be replaced. The players behind him on the depth chart were already unable to unseat him throughout the season, and it doesn’t seem likely they’ll be able to take such a massive leap that he won’t be missed. That means the transfer portal will have to solve the team’s problems. Former five-star recruit and former Ohio State Buckeye Julian Fleming looms as an option after entering the portal, but he likely won’t be enough to quell the concerns.
The Nittany Lions need more than one new difference-maker, especially if they lose the production from Lambert-Smith. As frustrating as he may have been for fans, he came up big late against Indiana to seal a win and has performed well in spurts.
Drastic personnel changes will have to happen for the wide receivers to play at the necessary level for Penn State to reach its goals. And, sure, this group might be good enough to make the playoff in 2024 since it’s expanding to 12 teams. But reaching the playoff will become the standard rather than the hope.
And if those struggles continue, a first-round exit from the playoff may not feel all that different from Saturday’s New Year’s Six defeat at the hands of Ole Miss.
