Penn State wide receivers taking advantage of opportunities as defenses key on run game

Joel Haas / For the Post-Gazette

After a sensational freshman campaign, Penn State running back Nick Singleton’s yards per carry dropped from 6.8 down to 4.4 in 2023, with his three highest marks coming in the final three games of the season after former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was fired.

Much of that was due to the team’s inability to threaten defenses through the air. A lack of proven commodities at wide receiver allowed defenses to stack the box and key in on the run, handicapping the ground game.

His counterpart Kaytron Allen’s physical play style remained successful in these conditions, boasting 5.2 yards per carry in both his first two seasons, but Singleton was unable to utilize his greatest attribute against loaded fronts — breakaway speed.

Those issues seem to be alleviated this season under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, with the passing game becoming more of a threat. Singleton opened the season with 233 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games, but missed the UCLA game and mustered just 26 yards on 10 carries in his return against USC.

“Would we like more production in the running game? Yeah,” head coach James Franklin said. “Would we like more explosive plays in the running game? Yes. Has that been a discussion over the last week during the bye week? Yes.” 

The struggles seem to mirror those of last season and, according to Franklin, have the same root cause — defenses playing to prevent the run. Wisconsin has been unusually mediocre defending the run this year but may choose to follow a similar blueprint.

“If we go out there to play Wisconsin and they got nine guys in the box, then we're going to still run the ball because we're committed to doing that. But the game may go differently in terms of our production throwing the ball and our production in the run game,” Franklin said. “So all those things are kind of factored into how we're going to operate each week and what we're going to have to do to win.”

After a slower start to the season, the Badgers have held their last three opponents to a combined 16 points, advancing to 5-2 overall and shaping up as a more formidable squad than previously expected.

“They're playing really good football right now on the defensive side of the ball led by (defensive coordinator) Mike Tressel,” Franklin said.

But this year, Penn State has shown an ability to produce through the air, whether it’s from wide receivers or star tight end Tyler Warren. If defenses choose to take away the run, the Nittany Lions have proven capable of performing in the passing game.

Penn State had just 3.8 yards per carry against the Trojans, but quarterback Drew Allar threw for a career-high 391 yards in the win, giving defenses another element for which to prepare.

“We need to make sure we're continuing to create opportunities and take advantage of their strengths. I think that's going to be really important,” Franklin said. “There should be more opportunities for [the wide receivers] because of that, but there's also going to need to be continued growth in production as the year goes on.”

Franklin said Penn State’s offense will look different week to week based on how defenses choose to operate. The key for the Nittany Lions has been getting production from any unit, depending on the situation.

“What we're doing offensively and what the game plan is, but also impacted by that is how the defense decides to game plan and how the defense decides to play us,” Franklin said. “I mean, most teams are going to go into the game with something that they are adamant about, that they're not going to give up.”