It was really easy to suggest wide receiver Dante Cephas was going to fit right into the Penn State offense and be the primary go-to receiver once he officially made the move to the Nittany Lions out of the transfer portal. But the hype seems to have fizzled leading up to the start of the college football season based on reports coming out of Penn State’s fall camp. And judging by one unofficial depth chart prediction, there may not even be a guarantee Cephas will be a starter for the Penn State offense this fall.
Now, before we get too deep into reading between the lines based on looks from media availabilities and an open practice two weeks before the season officially gets underway, let’s acknowledge that there is still a possibility Cephas ends up being Penn State’s top wide receiver. But if competition is what head coach James Franklin preaches, then Cephas appears to have some stiff competition for playing time in 2023.
Cephas is the only Penn State player to land on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award this season, and it is easy to see why he was included. Cephas is two years removed from a season with 1,240 receiving yards and nine touchdowns for Kent State, and he caught 48 passes for 744 yards in nine games for the Golden Flashes last season. With Penn State losing two top receivers to the NFL from last year’s roster, it was easy to assume Cephas would slide right in and keep the production going.
But early looks from the media in practices and an open practice recently suggest Cephas may not be the go-to receiver it was assumed would be the case. Cephas reportedly has not been getting first-team reps in practices observed by the media, and his lack of activity in a recent open practice certainly raised a few eyebrows.
So is this reason to be concerned for Penn State fans? It could be, but it may also be encouraging to know there are other options taking advantage of the opportunities in practice like Harrison Wallace and Omari Evans, who was the top performer in the Blue-White Game in the spring.
Lions247 published an unofficial depth chart prediction and noted Cephas could be battling Malick Meiga for the second spot on the depth chart at one wide receiver position behind Wallace. He could also be battling fellow transfer Malik McClain for another spot behind Evans. Odds are probably pretty good Cephas will be no worst than second on the depth chart at one of the receiver positions, and he could very well end up being a starter for the Nittany Lions when the season officially kicks off against West Virginia.
This could be a good sign for the overall talent available at the receiver position, or it could raise some concerns that one of the top transfer additions may not be good enough to be higher than third on the depth chart.
No matter what Penn State has in mind, we’ll start seeing how this position plays out beginning on Saturday, Sept. 2 in a primetime matchup with West Virginia.
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