Anchored by Ohio State transfer Julian Fleming, Penn State WRs have something to prove

Penn State’s offense was far from one-dimensional last season, but its effectiveness through the air left plenty of room for improvement.

Drew Allar proved capable in his first season as starting quarterback, yet by year’s end, Penn State’s shortcomings in the passing game were apparent.

The Nittany Lions ranked 77th nationally with 215 passing yards per game, which was statistically worse than Pitt (75th, 216 yards per game), despite the Panthers stumbling through multiple changes at QB en route to their worst season in 25 years.

Coach James Franklin is hoping Allar, now a junior, can take a step forward in coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s first year of calling plays.

Also important in achieving that goal will be a new-look group of receivers that is receiving early praise from Allar.

“We have guys that can make contested catches, and they’ve shown that already in camp,” Allar said. “They’re earning the right to allow me to throw those balls down field. I just have to give them a shot to touch the ball, really.”

Gone are the team’s top two receivers from last season: KeAndre Lambert-Smith (transfer to Auburn) and Dante Cephas (Kansas State).

But Penn State added Julian Fleming, who caught 60 passes for 803 yards and 12 touchdowns over the past two seasons with Ohio State.

Fleming, a Catawissa, Pa., native who was Gatorade’s Player of the Year coming out of high school in 2019, is expected to anchor the wideout room after four seasons with the Buckeyes.

Coach James Franklin described the 6-foot-2, 206-pound Fleming as “solid” after a handful of fall camp practices and is curious to watch the rest of the position group progress over the next few weeks.

“I think they have all been good at times,” Franklin said. “It’s still obviously a small number of practices and number of plays to truly evaluate.

“ … I’ll have a better idea a week from now. But so far, solid, and obviously there’s still some steps that need to be taken there for that entire room.”

In the mix for breakout seasons are redshirt juniors Liam Clifford and Harrison “Trey” Wallace.

Wallace, limited to eight games last year due to injury, is Penn State’s leading returning receiver with 19 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown.

Clifford played more of a rotational role last season, playing in every game but starting just one while recording 13 grabs for 130 yards.

Building a rapport between the quarterbacks and receivers room has been a point of emphasis in camp.

“Even away from football, being able to get together outside of the facility, hang out more with the quarterbacks, build that chemistry — those are all things that apply, and then ultimately, help us trust each other throughout the season,” Clifford said.

“Julian’s somebody I got close to when he came here. Us being able to push each other, him texting me being like, ‘Hey, let’s get some extra catches in today’ and me doing the same for him — whatever it might be, we’re just looking to get 1% better every day.”

For Allar, being as in sync as possible with his receivers will be key.

“Talking with the receivers — one of the best things we’ve done in fall camp is meeting with the receivers and quarterbacks every day, me leading those with Liam, Trey and Fleming,” Allar said. “Just talking about certain things. The other day, the emphasis was on out routes vs. man coverage and what that should look like. … There’s a lot more dialogue, and that just increases trust.”

After navigating through the frustration of injuries last year, Wallace is ready to show what he can do. He believes Kotelnicki’s offensive scheme is going to allow him to flourish.

“Making those spectacular plays — when that ball’s in the air, everybody knows that I’m coming down with it,” he said. “… Coach (Kotelnicki) has really based the offense off of his players’ strengths. All the things that we’re good at is going to be shown.”