After losing two leading wide receivers to the NFL draft and graduation, the search for passing options was officially on this spring for Penn State. The return of [autotag]Keandre Lambert-Smith[/autotag], who is coming off a solid performance in the Rose Bowl helped keep one receiving spot stabilized for the Nittany Lions, but [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] knew it was important to find the other options as soon as possible for the offense to keep firing in the fall.
Penn State attacked the transfer portal in the offseason to bring in two options for the receiving game. One of the most likely replacements for a starting receiver position, [autotag]Dante Cephas[/autotag] from Kent State, is joining the program after the spring and will start getting to work with quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] this summer. Cephas is widely expected to lock down one of the starting jobs upon his arrival, leaving Franklin and offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag] hoping someone else would step up and be that coveted third receiver.
[autotag]Malik McClain[/autotag] from Florida State joined the program in time for spring practices and was able to participate in the Blue-White Game. That was beneficial as McClain had some good moments in his spring debut for the Nittany Lions. But the rising star coming out of Penn State’s Blue-White Game this spring may have been sophomore [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag].
Evans scored the only touchdown of the spring game for the Nittany Lions when he found some rare open space against a tight defensive pass coverage, hauled in a pass from Allar after he scanned his progressions, and stretched into the endzone for the score (and was promptly penalized for excessive celebration).
After the game, Franklin commented on the performance of Evans and the overall search for a third passing option.
“I thought Omari (Evans) really stepped up and we need a third wideout to step up,” Franklin said in his postgame press conference. “So that was exciting to see him make some plays out there.”
“He’s strong and he’s physical, and he’s getting more and more confident day by day,” Franklin later added. “We need somebody to step up in that third wide receiver role. For the last week and a half, we moved him into that spot and obviously today was something to build on. There’s no doubt about it. He’s got all the tools.”
It is easy to overreact to a performance in a spring game, but Omari Evans certainly picked a good day to turn in the performance he did. We’ll see if that leads to a more meaningful role in the fall.
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