This hardly qualifies as a crisis for Penn State.
After all, the Nittany Lions have averaged 42.5 points through their first two games this season, so they’re not exactly starved for offense.
Still, it’s worth noting that as Penn State prepares to face Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Beaver Stadium, its wide receivers have not been a major force.
Four of them — DaeSean Hamilton, Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins and Brandon Polk — combined for 16 catches and no touchdowns in season-opening victories against Akron and Pitt. Heck, senior Saeed Blacknall still hasn’t recorded one catch this season.
Conversely, tight end Mike Gesicki and running back Saquon Barkley have teamed up for 17 catches and five touchdowns through the air.
None of that, coach James Franklin said Tuesday, should be interpreted as an indictment of his team’s wide receivers.
Rather, he said, the numbers reflect Penn State’s philosophy of taking what opposing defenses are willing to give it.
“In the old offense, we would [put] personnel in formation, to get players into certain spots,” Franklin said. “What we do now, which I love, is depending on what the defense does, truly is going to determine [what the offense does].
“You’d love to say, ‘We’re going to hand the ball off to Saquon Barkley 35 times a game,’ but that’s not what we do. If we get the look to hand the ball off to Saquon, we will. If we’re going to pull it and throw it on the perimeter, we’re going to do it.
“It’s all based on whether there is man-to-man coverage, zone coverage, whether they’re playing a middle-of-the-field open Cover-2 or corner-style defense or they’re closing it up and going man-coverage or Cover-0. We have checks.
“We have places to go with the ball. It’s not like we go into it saying, ‘We’re going to get Saeed this many touches or Saquon this many touches.’ Obviously, we want to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands, but it’s all based on what the defense gives. We’re not going to force it.”
Penn State lost a game-breaking wide receiver when Chris Godwin went to the NFL after the 2016 season, but doesn’t lack for talent at that position. Indeed, Hamilton’s 167 career catches tie him with Bobby Engram for third place on Penn State’s all-time list, and his 2,098 receiving yards are the sixth-most in school history.
Hamilton recorded three catches against Pitt, but that’s not necessarily an indication how many he will have against Georgia State. Individual output, Franklin said, will hinge on what opponents are willing to concede.
“You’re going to see Saeed maybe one week have one or two catches, and you’re going to see another week where he maybe has eight or 10 catches,” Franklin said. “That’s the same thing … with all of our weapons on offense.”
So far, Penn State’s skilled players — especially the wide receivers — appear to have accepted the idea that, under the current philosophy, individual statistics will suffer at times.
“The thing that’s great is, our guys get that and they embrace it,” Franklin said. “They realize that’s how our offense goes, and the most important thing is, what do we have to do to put the team in the best position to win?
“We’ve been pretty fortunate with our guys understanding that there are going to be some games where they get all kinds of opportunities and some games where they don’t.”
Dave Molinari: dmolinari@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.
First Published: September 12, 2017, 8:40 p.m.