Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Maybe curious is a more apt descriptor. Now that Penn State’s spring practice has begun, the BSD staff sat down and discussed some players we are most excited to hear about and eventually see in action this spring. Much has been written about the Penn State wide receivers in 2023. No one player took the reins to make this unit into an explosive outfit. Collectively, they were a bunch of good, not great players, none with the ability to separate themselves and make the requisite players we’ve seen out of guys like Jahan Dotson, Parker Washington, Mitchell Tinsley, and Chris Godwin in years past. Harrison “Tre” Wallace III himself hasn’t set the world on fire, but he’s shown flashes of what he can do on the field. The biggest reason for his moderate stats (228 yards on 19 receptions, 1 touchdown) was injury. Wallace missed eight games last season, and had short stints in some of the ones he did play. When fully healthy, however, Wallace has proven to be a key piece of what Penn State wanted to do on offense with former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. It’s not too far fetched to think he’ll be just as important in what new coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has planned for the Lions. With Wallace on the field, Penn State was able to open up the offense, as much as they did a season ago, seeing much more production from the receivers than they did when he was out. A full season of health should allow for the level of consistency to become a reliable target for Drew Allar. And, while he may himself not become the No. 1 target, he would still be an integral part of an effective passing attack in 2024. We’ve already heard about Julian Fleming, and the hope that he becomes more than what he was at Ohio State. Were he to manifest that hope, that should free up Wallace to become that second or third target that would keep defenses honest. If all Fleming does is more of what he did at Ohio State, the presence of another solid contributor would have the opposite effect: Wallace would benefit from having the focus distributed around, potentially making him the big play target we’ve all been waiting for. Wide receiver is going to be the one unit to get the most attention this coming spring, and beyond, for obvious reasons. How the top three shake out, and who slots behind them (no pun intended) is going to be one of the most dissected topics for the next five months. Among those topics will be whether Wallace can stay healthy long enough to make the contributions we all know he can make. It all starts this spring. Source: https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/3 ... -lions-psu