We’ve gone over why you should be excited for Penn State’s offense in 2025, and I’m here to splash water on your . . . ahem, excitement. Let’s pump the brakes and get a dose of Penn State Pessimism™ to cool your jets.

Wide Receivers

For what seems like the 8th year in a row, Penn State’s receivers are a question mark. With the departure of Omari Evans and Tre Wallace to the portal, and Julian Fleming to graduation, the Lions were without all three of their starters in 2024. That may not have been that big of a loss, given that those three receivers – again, the starters on a playoff semifinal team – combined for 81 catches, 1,311 yards, and 10 TDs. For those doing math at home, that’s a combined 5 catches, 87 yards, and 0.7 TDs per game over a 15-game season. What’s that, Penn State played in 16 games last year? Oh, right, the wide receivers didn’t record a single catch against Notre Dame in the semifinals.

Whew.

Out with the old, in with the new, as they say. With the three starters gone, James Franklin brought in three transfers – Kyron Hudson from USC, Devonte Ross from Troy, and Trebor Peña from Syracuse. Those three figure to provide a breath of fresh air to the passing game, but you’re now asking Drew Allar to completely redevelop his relationship with his pass catchers. Add in that Tyler Warren is off to the NFL, and the only starters who have caught passes from Allar are the running backs. Don’t be shocked if the passing game gets off to a rocky start in 2025.

Quarterback

Speaking of Drew Allar, he’s now entering his third year as a starter for the Lions, and is still a question mark. Is he the quarterback that is going to engineer a fourth quarter, do or die drive against USC, making clutch fourth down conversion after fourth down conversion? Or is he the quarterback who is going to throw a back-breaking, game-sealing interception against Notre Dame in the playoffs, with a trip to the national championship game on the line?

A big part of the problem in the passing game was the receivers, as has been noted already. But as a third year starter and former 5-star recruit, Allar has yet to completely take over the offense. His footwork is inconsistent, and his decision-making is suspect at times. In some instances, he seems to want to avoid all mistakes at all costs, leading to very passive play. At other times, he slings it wildly with poor mechanics, leading to turnovers and putting the team in bad positions. If Drew can take another step from 2024 to 2025, Penn State could be very, very good. But if it’s more of the same, the Lions could be sitting at home in January wondering “what if”.

Offensive Coordinator

We talked about how poorly the passing game went last year, and that includes Mr. Do Everything Tyler Warren. Andy Kotelnicki wisely crafted the 2024 offense around Warren, relying on him and the run game to carry the Lions. That worked . . . until it didn’t. Now, Kotelnicki needs to once again tailor his offense around the players he has. Expect Penn State to be a run-first team, with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen fighting their way towards the top of the all-time rushing leader list.

But what happens when a team keys on the run game and stuffs it? When an Iowa or an Ohio State, who have the athletes and schemes to not just be out-manned by Penn State, take away the rush? Can Kotelnicki work some magic into the passing game? At times in 2024, it seemed like the offensive coordinator could do no wrong, and everything worked. Then, suddenly it didn’t, whether it was an ill-advised or ill-timed trick play, or a sudden series of passing calls when the run game had been working. Andy is a great OC, but he’s going to need to be one of the best to help Penn State get over the hump. Can he? We will see.