Transfer wide receivers? Penn State didn’t need ’em as homegrown Harrison Wallace breaks out vs. West Virginia

It turns out maybe all No. 8 Penn State needed to improve its much-maligned downfield passing game was to look inward.

An offseason of Keystone State consternation wondering how Penn State could truly contend in the College Football Playoff — and not just qualify for it — after adding only a quasi-productive receiver in the transfer portal was quickly quieted with a breakout first half by redshirt junior Harrison Wallace.

Wallace finished with five catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns, all in the first half before a two-plus hour weather delay as the Nittany Lions opened the season with a 34-12 win at West Virginia on Saturday in the debut of new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

How needed — and unexpected — was the passing game output, particularly from Wallace?

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound redshirt junior is the first Penn State receiver with five receptions for at least 100 yards and two touchdowns in a game since 2021.

The breakout game should not surprise Penn State coach James Franklin.

“He’s in a really good place,” Franklin told 247Sports in early August. “We’re expecting him to have a big year for us. We need for him to have a big year for us. He is super athletic; probably one of the most explosive guys we have in our program.”

Wallace, a former four-star prospect who prepped at Pike Road (Ala.) High, reached those numbers in the first half when he had five receptions for 117 yards and two scores.

When Jahan Dotson did it in 2021, he had 11 catches for 242 yards and three touchdowns at Maryland.

The headline-making change in Penn State’s receiver room during the offseason was the addition of Julian Fleming from Ohio State and the loss of leading receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith to Auburn. Fleming did not catch a pass, and Penn State’s homegrown talent played so well he did not need to.

Not only did Wallace have a big catch and run for a 50-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, Omari Evans had a 55-yard catch with 10 seconds remaining to set up Wallace’s 18-yard touchdown on the next play to give the Nittany Lions a 20-6 lead.

Wallace foreshadowed his big outing early in training camp.

“I’m ready,” he said. “Just from the work I’ve been putting in, the things I had to go through. It’s time.”

With the loss of Lambert-Smith, who had four catches for 123 yards and two scores last year against West Virginia, Penn State spent the spring and summer answering questions about where its receiver production would come from.

In fact, with Lambert-Smith and Dante Cephus  (Kansas State) transferring out, it left Wallace as the top returning pass catcher in the receiver room. He had 19 catches for 228 yards as he averaged 12 yards per catch. He is more than halfway to that yardage total in one game.

Oh, we forgot to mention: Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was asked to get the ball down the field and he did just that, finding on-one matchups when he did. He finished 11-for-17 for 216 yards and three touchdowns.

In nine of Penn State’s 13 games last season, Allar did not have a pass play go 40 yards.

The idea of hiring Kotelnicki to run the offense came with Penn State coach James Franklin’s desire to be more diverse and take more chances down the field, and give the receivers more of a chance to make plays.

Last season Allar averaged 202.4 passing yards and six times he did not reach the 200-yard mark. In the first half against the Mountaineers he was 8 of 13 for 199 yards and three touchdowns.  

He averaged 19.6 yards per completion, which is more than any game in 2023 when he averaged 11.3 yards per completion.

After the weather delay, Penn State went to its running game and dominated the line of scrimmage.