Penn State Wants Receivers Who Produce 'Fear in People'

James Franklin calls receiver perhaps the game's most impactful position. The Lions are responding accordingly.

Penn State punctuated its Rose Bowl victory, and an 11-2 season, with an expertly called an executed deep shot from Sean Clifford to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. The 88-yard completion, which produced the Rose Bowl's longest touchdown pass ever, sent Penn State to the offseason with a new mission.

As coach James Franklin said, the team wants to build a receivers room that "puts the fear in people" next season.

"That, to me, is what I'm looking for," Franklin said. "I'm looking for us to develop and recruit a room that people in our conference are fearful of, and also on a national scale as well."

During a relatively quiet offseason, Penn State made its biggest changes at wide receiver. Franklin parted ways with former receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield after three seasons and hired Marques Hagans from Virginia.

It's a bold move for Hagans, who has played and coached only at Virginia. He joins a program positioning itself for Big Ten and College Football Playoff runs but needs more edge at receiver. Certainly, Franklin's looking for it.

Penn State has produced big-play dichotomies the past two seasons. In 2021, the Lions 10 longest plays from scrimmage were passes. Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen changed that in 2022, when eight of team's 13 longest plays were runs.

With Singleton and Allen returning, and an offensive line trending upward, the run game appears set. But Franklin wants a complementary passing threat, which means more production from the receivers.

Lambert-Smith's return is critical, but the Lions still seek more production. Franklin praised Florida State transfer Malik McClain's quick introduction, and the team is set to welcome Dante Cephas from Kent State later this year.

With receivers Kaden Saunders, Omar Evens, Liam Clifford and Malick Meiga returning, and former cornerback Cristian Driver shifting to receiver, the Lions have plenty of talent to gauge this offseason. But Franklin wants them to fit a larger plan — namely, to become feared.

"I'm just a big believer that, if you look at the NFL and you look at college football, the room and the position that I think can be maybe the most impactful right now is the wide receivers," Franklin said. "Those guys at the NFL level, as well as college, are able to change the game and change the game quickly."

Franklin then delineated how wants to recruit and build a receivers room. Essentially, the model hews closer to Ohio State's than to Michigan's.

"The game has become such a space game that, when you have guys on the outside that can go 80 at any moment, that changes defensive coordinators. That puts the fear in people," Franklin said. "And honestly the other thing is, it impacts the running game. When you're able to have guys on the outside that people don't feel like they can match up with in one-on-one situations, then they have to put a safety over the top or move that safety from the box, which now creates more of a balanced defense in terms of what they are trying to defend and what they are trying to stop.

"So, I actually think it's going to be as impactful on our running game as it will be in our passing game."

Hagans has both opportunity and responsibility at Penn State. Franklin said the new coach's background with one program, and its variations over time, will lend a fresh perspective at Penn State.

"He's going to bring some things in from his experience at [Virginia] that are valuable, and I'm going to want that feedback from him, and we'll ask for that feedback," Franklin said. "But there's obviously going to be some things that we do differently that he hasn't experienced before that I think are going to push him outside of his comfort zone."

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.