Quarterback Drew Allar vigorously defended the play of Penn State’s wide receivers, even though they didn’t have a touchdown catch in the first five Big Ten games.
“I’ll defend them to the day I die,” Allar said Wednesday. “I love being around those guys. They’re really fun. They don’t get enough credit for how many plays they do make. I’m excited to get the opportunity to prove that to the world this week and give them a shot to come down with the ball.”
The sixth-ranked Nittany Lions (4-1 Big Ten, 7-1) meet Washington (3-3, 5-4) in the annual White Out Game Saturday night at 8 (TV-Peacock) at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State wide receivers combined to make just three catches for 49 yards last week in a 20-13 loss to Ohio State. Harrison Wallace III is the Lions’ top wide receiver with 24 receptions for 395 yards and two touchdowns, but no one else has made more than 14 catches.
“Our receivers get a lot of harsh criticism about their performance, but I don’t really find it necessary at all,” Allar said. “They’ve had a great year. They’ll continue to build on it. We have a lot of talent in that room. We have a lot of leadership in that room.”
Wallace, Liam Clifford and Omari Evans have one 100-yard receiving game apiece. KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who transferred to Auburn, had Penn State’s only one last year against West Virginia.
As a group, this year’s wide receivers are averaging 132.1 yards per game compared to 116.5 last year.
“They’re a confident group,” tight end Tyler Warren said. “They’ve shown what they can do. A big part of it is being able to stay on the field, which we weren’t great at last week. We weren’t great on third down (3-for-11).
“If you stay on the field, you’re able to call more plays and give more people the ball.”
Warren leads Penn State with 51 catches for 606 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Nick Singleton is third with 19 for 204 and four TDs.
In their defense, the wide receivers have made 17 catches of at least 20 yards in eight games, the same number for all of last season in 13 games.
“We want to be explosive,” Allar said. “Obviously a way to be explosive is throwing the ball down the field. It doesn’t make sense just to call shots on first-and-10 on the first play of a drive. We have to get into some sort of rhythm by moving the ball and getting first downs. Getting first downs is going to lead to more plays as an offense.”
Lions coach James Franklin said earlier this week that the wide receivers have “more work to do.”
“I think we have improved (from last year),” Franklin said. “I don’t think there is any doubt. We’ve improved on the field, in practice and in production. I don’t know if we had guys step up (last year) in critical moments and make clutch plays when it was needed most.”
Washington, Penn State’s opponent Saturday, ranks second nationally in passing yards allowed and fifth in pass efficiency defense. The Huskies intercepted three Miller Moss passes last week in a 26-21 win over USC and will test the wide receivers.
“I have a ton of confidence in the coaching staff and the players in that room,” Allar said. “We don’t have a shortage of talent in that room, for sure … All of our receivers have made a ton of plays this year. They’re going to continue to make a ton of plays the rest of the season.”
