Penn State wide receivers respond to critics following Peach Bowl loss

A couple of Penn State wide receivers seemed to respond to critics on Twitter after the Peach Bowl loss.

You will have a difficult time finding anyone coming to the defense of the Penn State wide receivers following a disappointing showing in the Peach Bowl. Penn State’s 38-25 loss to Ole Miss saw no catches by a wide receiver until the fourth quarter, and by the time the receivers did start making plays, the hole to climb out of was too deep for the Nittany Lions. After the game, the wide receivers took some heat, as did quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] for the season-long lack of explosiveness at the receiver position.

And those criticisms were heard loud and clear by at least one member of the Penn State receiving corp. [autotag]Kaden Saunders[/autotag] responded to the critics with a post on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account on Saturday night, hours after Penn State’s loss to Ole Miss.

“All I see on my Twitter is stuff about wide receivers,” Saunders said. “We have more than enough talent, trust me.”

If the talent is in fact there on the roster at the wide receiver position, then the blame should absolutely go on the playcalling all season long. This is a big reason why Penn State made a late season change at offensive coordinator to fire Mike Yurcich from his role as offensive coordinator. Penn State will look to fix the passing game with the addition of new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who comes to Penn State from Kansas. Given Kotelnicki’s history as an offensive coordinator, that should be filling fans with some optimism going into the 2024 season, which will see Penn State under some serious pressure.

[autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag] may have taken a slightly more veiled response to the same criticisms.

Saunders is coming off his second season in the program. After redshirting the 2022 season with three appearances during the regular season, Saunders made it onto the field in 12 games for the Nittany Lions in the 2023 season. He caught 6 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. He also played a role on special teams with 14 punt returns for a gain of 86 yards, an average of 6.1 yards per return.

Evans is also coming off his second season with the program. After appearing in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2022, Evans made appearances in 11 games for Penn State in 2023. He caught 4 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Neither player caught a pass in the Peach Bowl.

Saunders and Evans will be two of the players to watch during the spring as Penn State looks to get more out of the wide receiver position.

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