Where does Penn State’s passing game stand coming out of fall camp?

This week marks the unofficial end of training camp for Penn State football. With the countdown to kickoff now in single digits, the Nittany Lions shift their focus into game prep and their Week 1 opponent, Nevada.

A key storyline for the Blue and White all offseason has been the infusion of talent at wide receiver. By adding Kyron Hudson, Devonte Ross, and Trebor Pena from the transfer portal, the Nittany Lions hope to eliminate the glaring weakness in their offensive attack, one that arguably kept them out of the national title game a year ago. 

After a summer of workouts and three weeks of practice, what progress has the Penn State passing game made heading into the fall? Meeting with reporters on Tuesday evening, James Franklin expressed optimism about the current state of the Nittany Lions’ aerial attack. 

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“It’s been good,” he said. “Hudson is Steady Eddie. Big, strong, physical, contested-catch guy. Very mature, very smart. Pena obviously was very productive. He’s been probably better than I thought he was going to be. And I thought it was going to be pretty good. I mentioned already that I do think he’s a guy that got faster and stronger and more explosive in our strength and conditioning program.

“And I think Ross, you guys saw in the spring, he’s got the ability to be kind of the guy in space that I think scares some people, just from a quickness standpoint. He’s so efficient with his movements.”

Non-conference will be critical formative period for Penn State passing attack

Penn State transfer portal WR Kyron Hudson. © Matt Thomas / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Although they open the year next Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions will likely not be truly tested until Oregon comes to town in late September. With Nevada, FIU, and Villanova on the schedule for the first three weeks of the season, Andy Kotelnicki and the Penn State offensive staff have time to figure out the most effective way to attack defenses through the air. 

“So those three guys, I like where they’re at,” Franklin said. “I would also make the argument with those three guys: I think it’s going to be really important coming out of the first three games that we feel like we really know what we have with those three guys and how we could use them.

“So just like Andy knows our team better, we know those guys, too. But we’ll have a much better idea of who they are, who those guys are as well, after the first three games.”

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