Penn State Football 2023 Spring Position Breakdown: Wide Receivers

Penn State Football 2023 Spring Position Breakdown: Wide Receivers

STATE COLLEGE, PA — Spring Penn State football is nearly upon us as the Nittany Lions will open up their practices on March 14th. The spring season will culminate with the annual Blue-White game on April 15th. Perhaps no other position has experienced as much change from last season as the wide receivers. The most surprising change was the sudden dismissal of wide receiver coach Taylor Stubblefield.

Penn State football head coach James Franklin moved to fill the role quickly with Marques Hagans, a 12 year coach at Virginia. In fact, the Cavaliers are the only team Hagans as ever coached until now.

The Nittany Lions also need to replace their top two receivers in Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley. Both guys will be in the NFL this fall and were big contributors this past season.

Who are the receivers in spring practice?

Franklin has been busy in the transfer portal this offseason and the staff snagged two of the better receivers available. First, Dante Cephas will join the team after transferring from Kent State (MAC). The fifth-year player has accumulated 1,984 yards and 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons with the Golden Flashes and looks to make a big splash right away.

The other transfer is Malik McClain from Florida State. McClain may not have flashy numbers — 396 yards and 5 touchdowns with the Seminoles over the last two seasons — but it was more of a product of being on a team with an abundance of receivers. He seems to have a lot of talent and is ready for a breakout-type of season.

Penn State football won’t be without a veteran presence as KeAndre Lambert-Smith will be back for another season. Lambert-Smith will look to build off of his Rose Bowl performance, in which he topped 100 yards for the first time in a game and broke a Rose Bowl record for longest touchdown reception.

Behind Lambert-Smith, there is not a ton of production returning; however, Harrison Wallace, Liam Clifford, Omari Evans, and Kaden Wallace all have an opportunity to step up into bigger roles this upcoming year. It will also be interesting to watch Cristian Driver develop as he moves into the position group over from defensive back.

There is not a natural No. 1 receiver in the bunch, one of the biggest questions heading into the spring. We likely will not have an answer until sometime in September. Multiple guys will need to step up this year to help out first-year starting quarterback Drew Allar and turn the group into a position of strength.

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