One of the biggest stories of the 2024 College Football season was the wide receiver room at Penn State. While the Nittany Lions had a potential first round pick at quarterback, an elite offensive line, two of the Nation's best running backs, and the best tight end in the Country, the lack of a true threat at wide receiver sunk them in the biggest games.
Against Ohio State, the Nittany Lions got just three catches out of their receivers, allowing the Buckeyes to load the box and stuff the run. In the Big Ten Championship Game, Penn State's wideouts had just 5 catches for 81 yards, which was less than half of the production Oregon got from Tez Johnson. The issues were on full display, however, when the group failed to catch a pass against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.
This offseason, James Franklin and his staff made it their top priority to address the issues bringing in a talented group of receivers. Kyron Hudson joins the room from USC, showing an ability to win on 50/50 balls. Devonte Ross brings a ton of experience to the room along with proven production but, takes a step up in competition.
The biggest addition came this Spring when Syracuse star Trebor Pena entered the transfer portal landing at Penn State. Pena has proven he has the talent to be a clear WR1 which will be Drew Allar's biggest asset as the Nittany Lions haven't had a player of that caliber on the outside.
Despite all of their additions to the wide receiver room, there's still a question over if this group is good enough to win the Championship. The doubters include National Championship winning Head Coach Urban Meyer, who appeared on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd, casting doubt on Penn State's group.
"That was not a typical Penn State receiving corps, and I don’t know if they made it better. I keep trying to research that, and we’ll see them early in the season, but I’m hoping they have better skill on the outside. I think everything about Penn State is a national championship contender. My question is do they have NFL Draft picks on the outside like they used to"Urban Meyer
While Penn State did overhaul its wide receiver room, the concerns from Urban Meyer are totally fair, and one's the Nittany Lions will have to answer for this season. Kyron Hudson has had massive highlight reel plays but, the most production he's put up 462 yards which wouldn't be the fix Penn State is looking for. Devonte Ross just had a breakout season but, he's moving from Troy to the Big Ten which will bring much tougher competition.
The biggest addition for Penn State however, is Trebor Pena, and if he were the only addition to this room, it would be a massive upgrade. Pena is coming off of a breakout season at Syracuse putting up 941 yards and 9 touchdowns which is the level of production Penn State truly needed. If the additions of Ross and Hudson don't pan out, Trebor Pena is talented enough to make the Penn State receiving room better.