07-05-2025
Blue-White Game success: Why, finally, the Penn State football receivers are rising
STATE COLLEGE − It was the first time the Penn State football world got to see a supposedly revamped wide receiver room.
The position group that was blamed for the Nittany Lions not making it to the national championship game (No catches in the Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame).
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The one that's been maligned for two years and more.
The one that, since January, has added promising rookies and transfers and has, reportedly, grown some of its returners. The room that added yet another big piece on Saturday, a couple of hours before the Blue-White Game here in the Beaver Stadium construction zone.
So far, so good for a top-five team that needs an overhaul at often the most visible position on the field.
Penn State wide receiver Lyrick Samuel (81) runs after a catch during the Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in State College. The White team defeated the Blue team, 10-8.
The transfers certainly showed out, no matter that it was against teammates and backups. Speedy Devonte Ross ran and caught short and long and just missed on a 60-yard pass play from Drew Allar, the ball sailing just a bit too far. Sturdy Kyron Hudson, who plays bigger than his 6-foot-1 frame, made catches look easy on the sideline and across the middle.
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The young kids looked promising, too. The 6-foot-4 Lyrick Samuel, the least-publicized of the Lions' four incoming receivers, got behind the defense on a 40-yard touchdown catch from backup QB Jaxon Smolik. He made a couple of other smooth catches-and-runs. Redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark found a groove, too, after the drill work turned to live tackling in the second half.
The best new Penn State football receiver?
Three of those four guys weren't even here last year. And Denmark played little as a rookie.
Even more? Penn State landed arguably the top spring transfer portal receiver, Trebor Pena, on Saturday. He caught 84 passes last season at Syracuse.
Call head coach James Franklin impressed after Blue-White, which signals the end of spring practice. He declined to mention Pena, by name, but seemed to be talking of him when describing how important the next three months are for this group.
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"You guys really got your first look at Hudson and Ross and both those guys have very bright futures. But we're going to need competition through the whole room. We're just trying to create as much competition at every position as we possibly can. We embrace it as coaches, the players embrace it, as well.
"The nice thing is you can get a ton of work done in the passing game over the summer. It's hard to really work on the running game. But the passing game, you can throw on air, you can do one-on-ones, you can do seven-on-seven (drills). There's a ton of work you can get done."
This team, this offense, this quarterback, even, need a resurgence here. They don't need an All-America-type receiver like they've had in Jahan Dotson, Chris Godwin or Allen Robinson, they simply need reliable pass-catchers who can take from Allar as good as he gives.
They finally seem on the way to that.
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"This is a huge time of the year for us in our offense," Allar said after throwing mostly to Ross, Hudson and senior Liam Clifford on Saturday. "We'll be able to spend a lot of time together throwing, and we already have that stuff mapped out with the strength staff. We're making that as efficient as possible.
"The receivers" he said, "have taken a huge step forward for us this spring ..."
Just maybe the missing piece to this team being all it can truly be.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football Blue-White Game: Why receivers are finally rising
