Where are Penn State’s WRs in College Sports Wire’s best Big Ten receivers list?

Was Penn State snubbed in College Sports Wire ranking of the top Big Ten receivers in 2023?

With under 100 days left before the start of college football season, coaching staffs, media, fans and everyone involved with the sport are starting to project what will happen during the 2023 season.

College Sports Wire has been ranking players at their positions from each conference and recently completed their list for the best Big Ten wide receivers.

Throughout the offseason, one of the biggest question marks surrounding Penn State was about their wide receiver group. After losing [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] and [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag] to the NFL Draft, questions about the overall talent and depth at the position were pervasive.

Here are the top wide receivers according to College Sports Wire.

  1. Marvin Harrison Jr. – Ohio State (77 rec, 1,263 yds, 14 TDs)
  2. Emeka Egbuka – Ohio State (74 rec, 1,151 yds, 10 TDs)
  3. Isaiah Williams – Illinois (82 rec, 715 yds, 5 TDs)
  4. Chimere Dike – Wisconsin (47 rec, 689 yds, 6 TDs)
  5. Tyrese Chambers – Maryland (51 rec, 544 yds, 4 TDs)
  6. Cornelius Johnson – Michigan (32 rec, 499 yds, 6 TDs)
  7. Chris Autman-Bell – Minnesota (11 rec, 214 yds, 1 TD)
  8. Corey Crooms Jr – Minnesota (57 rec, 814 yds, 5 TDs)
  9. Jeshaun Jones – Maryland (44 rec, 557 yds, 4 TDs)
  10. Billy Kemp IV – Nebraska (16 rec, 116 yds, 0 TDs)
  11. Julian Fleming – Ohio State (34 rec, 533 yds, 6 TDs)
  12. Naseim Brantley – Rutgers (53 rec, 893 yds, 9 TDs)

It should come as no surprise that Penn State doesn’t have any of the top players on the list from College Sports Wire, but they did not have any of their receivers make the list.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith did make it as an honorable mention, but it’s still shocking to not see any Nittany Lions listed as a top 12 player in the conference. Lambert-Smith is expected to take the next step this season and will be helped out by projected starter and Toledo transfer [autotag]Dante Cephas[/autotag].

Here are both their numbers from last season in comparison to others on the list.

  • Lambert-Smith: 24 rec, 389 yds, 4 TDs
  • Cephas: 48 rec, 744 yds, 3 TDs

When looking at both of their numbers, it’s safe to say both have arguements to be included on the list of best receivers in the Big Ten. Lambert-Smith has put up numbers as a tertiary option that match and exceed some of the players on this list. Cephas has the fourth most yards on this list when looking at last season’s numbers.

The good news is that the Penn State wide receivers can go out and show they deserve to be included at top receivers in the Big Ten this season. At the end of the day, this is a preseason list.

Once the season starts, they can go out prove how good they are in this conference.

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