STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Devonte Ross knew he’d have just one man to beat. He knew where the football would be and exactly when it would get there.
For the new Penn State wide receiver, those are the perks of paying attention in practice. The ensuing twisting, one-armed, 42-yard touchdown catch through tight defense in the No. 2 Nittany Lions’ win over FIU was the payoff.
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“That was a special moment for me,” Ross said. “I’ve dreamed of playing on a stage like this at a school like this, so it was a dream come true.”
The Nittany Lions (2-0) believe more of those moments are coming.
Ross and fellow transfer receivers Trebor Peña and Kyron Hudson were brought in to bolster a position group that’s seen almost constant turnover since 2022. The trio is getting as many opportunities as possible to build chemistry with quarterback Drew Allar through the first three weeks of the season.
It’s a stretch where past transfers failed to take flight.
Before Ross, Peña and Hudson arrived, the Nittany Lions had signed four receivers from the transfer portal since 2022. Those players — Mitchell Tinsley, Malik McClain, Dante Cephas and Julian Fleming — combined for just 19 catches for 237 yards and three touchdowns over their first two games with Penn State.
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Only Tinsley finished with more than 50 catches. McClain and Cephas managed six and 22 catches, respectively, and transferred again the following year. Fleming wrapped up his Penn State career with 14 catches for 176 yards and a touchdown.
In the last three years, nine receivers have transferred out of the program.
By design, Ross, Peña and Hudson have been much more involved in Andy Kotelnicki’s offense early. They’ve got a combined 29 touches for 343 yards and two touchdowns. All three have played multiple receiver positions through the first two games. All three have drawn praise for their downfield blocking. Peña and Ross also have returned punts.
“I think we have a really good group of guys assembled,” wide receivers coach Marques Hagans said. “If you didn’t have labels on them for which school they came from, you wouldn’t know the difference. They’re all very smart, they’ve all picked it up.”
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Ross needed a bit more time to recover from an unspecified training camp injury, so Hudson and Peña shared the load in the team’s 46-11 win over Nevada in Week 1.
Peña caught seven passes for 74 yards, working the sideline, plus short and intermediate routes. Kotelnicki used him on an end-around run, too. Hudson snagged six passes for 89 yards, including a touchdown on a deep throw from Allar.
Once Ross was ready, Kotelnicki turned him loose down the field against FIU’s single coverage. It was a play Ross said they “practiced all week.”
“We’ve gone into these first couple of weeks with a philosophy of things we’re trying to get done in terms of building chemistry and confidence in certain aspects of the game,” head coach James Franklin said. “I think that those things could factor in to a degree, and that really kind of revolves around those three receivers, but we need to be more balanced.”
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As the program has waited for a star to emerge on the outside, opponents have regularly stacked the line of scrimmage, geared to stop running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. In the last two seasons, Penn State’s passing offense has ranked no better than 66th nationally.
Jahan Dotson was the last Penn State receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in a season. He did it with 91 catches in 2021. Nationally, there have been 92 1,000-yard receiving seasons by FBS players since then.
Since Franklin took over in 2014, only two other Nittany Lions players have finished with 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Tight end Tyler Warren had 1,233 yards on 104 catches while playing all over the field, and Chris Godwin finished with 1,101 yards on 69 catches in 2015. All three now play in the NFL.
Franklin knows more downfield passing success would not only create the big plays he and his staff covet, they also would open things up for Allen and Singleton.
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With Villanova visiting as a final tune-up before No. 4 Oregon comes to Happy Valley on Sept. 27, Franklin has a better idea for what the possibilities are now that he’s seen Ross, Peña and Hudson in action.
“We have a lot of great weapons on our offense,” Ross said. “Every position has great players, so I think we can be really great.”
