Standout wide receiver emerges for Penn State football during spring game

One of the biggest storylines throughout the offseason for the Nittany Lions has been wide receiver depth. While KeAndre Lambert-Smith is still expected to be WR1 for Penn State football, the Nittany Lions’ offense appears to have found a new standout wide receiver during the spring game: sophomore wideout Omari Evans.

At this point in the season, the 2023 Penn State football offense is starting to shift from a list of candidates to a viable depth chart ahead of summer ball and the fall opener. A lot is being worked out right now, though Penn State’s rising sophomore wideout is starting to establish himself as a legitimate starting wide receiver for this year’s offense.

Sophomore wideout Omari Evans stands out during spring game

The first touchdown pass thrown in Beaver Stadium this year was a 28-yard deep ball connection from two of Penn State’s rising sophomores: quarterback Drew Allar and wideout Omari Evans. A season ago, Evans was on the receiving end of an incredible touchdown pass from Allar in the Lions’ Week 2 victory over the Ohio Bobcats; now, it’s looking like Penn State fans may be in for more of the same this fall.

Following Evan’s incredible touchdown grab from Drew Allar, he was also on the receiving end of one of Beau Prubula’s best passes: a 22-year dot that put the Blue team within the 10-yard line. Throughout the first half, Evans hauled in four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown, accounting for nearly half of the game’s first half receiving yards.

“We need someone to step up in that 3rd wide receiver role,” head coach James Franklin said following the Penn State football spring game. “Obviously today was something to build on (for Evans) … He has got all of the tools, we gotta grind through it and continue to get him good at his craft.”

Penn State football needs the depth at wideout ahead of 2023 season

Most of Penn State’s top receiving targets from the 2022 season have left the program. Mitchell Tinsley, Parker Washington, Brenton Strange, and more are all on their way out, leaving the Nittany Lions’ young quarterback room a lot of new faces to work with heading into a massive season for the program this fall. If Penn State football wants to compete with the best — such as Michigan and Ohio State — it will need players like rising sophomore Omari Evans to step up; if the spring game is any indication, Evans could be in for a breakout season this fall.

All said and done, Omari Evans separated himself from the pack during the Penn State football Blue/White game on Saturday. He was one of the game’s top offensive standouts and is a name that fans must be familiar with by the season opener against West Virginia on September 2nd.

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