James Franklin: Penn State football wide receiver ‘hungry’ for a big year

The wide receiver room will carry the bulk of the spotlight over the next few months and begin the 2024 season for the Penn State football team. It was glaringly obvious last season that the Nittany Lions were missing explosiveness whether that was from deep shots down the field, or, if that was from general separation. One player who brought that element to the table was WR Harrison Wallace. But, with an injury-riddled 2023 season, James Franklin expects him to bounce back in a big way.

When healthy, one could argue Harrison Wallace was the most consistent wide receiver on the field last season. He appeared in eight games while making six starts. Wallace hauled in 19 catches for 228 yards and one touchdown in 2023. However, when James Franklin spoke to the media this past Thursday, he stated tha Wallace is “hungry” for a big year.

“We thought he was going to have a big year last year, and that got limited [through] no fault of his own. And we feel that way – and probably more so – this year. He’s a year older; he’s a year maturer; he’s been developed. And I think he’s very hungry because I think there’s frustration from last year [because it] got cut short. Because I think he felt the same way.

“He’s in a really good place. He’s had a great summer so far. He had a really good spring. And we’re expecting him to have a really big year for us. We need for him to have a really big year for us. He’s super athletic. Probably one of the most explosive guys we have in our program. And I think you guys saw flashes of that at times [last season].

“I think where some of the challenges were is just the chemistry with all the time he missed with the quarterbacks was lacking. So having him back and getting all this work this summer and this spring has been really valuable.”

A consent three is required for Drew Allar

From week to week, Drew Allar needs to have three wide receiver targets that stay consistent throughout the season. Ideally, that would include Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming, Harrison Wallace, and Omari Evans or Kaden Saunders. Before the 2023 season began, James Franklin shared the message of other wide receivers needing to step up on the field.

For the players who chose to stay at Penn State to continue to develop, hopefully, several of them can rise above and put it together on the field this fall. There will also be a learning curve with a new offensive system installed by Andy Kotelnicki. New signals, play calls, and audibles will challenge Drew Allar and his receiving core.

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