STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State Football wide receiver Harrison Wallace III may have returned to action at an ideal time for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State has struggled to find a third reliable target at receiver this season.
Outside of the top two, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Harrison Wallace III, Penn State has started Liam Clifford, Malik McClain, and Dante Cephas at the third wide receiver slot, but none of the three have separated themselves with their play on the field.
In Wallace’s absence over the past (practically) three games, Penn State’s passing game had relied on its tight ends and running backs instead of seeing another receiver step up to take more targets.
Between weeks three and five, none of Penn State’s receivers outside of Lambert-Smith caught more than two passes in a game.
Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, Harrison Wallace III returned to play from his injury at an ideal time.
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What Harrison Wallace II Brings Penn State Football Offense
With Wallace returning this past Saturday and being a full participant with no injury designation before the game, the redshirt sophomore was able to shake off rust from his three-game absence and find his rhythm with Penn State quarterback Drew Allar before the Nittany Lions head to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes this weekend.
After the game, I asked Allar what it meant to have Wallace back in the lineup.
“Hhe’s someone we want to get the ball to just because of how explosive he is,” Allar said, of Wallace.
Allar also noted that Wallace is a “very dynamic athlete” and “a very calm and steady guy” whose “confidence doesn’t go up and down.”
I asked Drew Allar what it was like to have Harrison Wallace III back in the offense: “he’s somebody who we want to get the ball to just because of how explosive he is” pic.twitter.com/Ohz7NFCMUc
— Penn State FB Thoughts (@PSU_FB_Thoughts) October 14, 2023
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Wallace’s confidence not going up and down was a key Saturday as Wallace shook off some injury rust during the game against UMass.
On Penn State’s first possession with Penn State driving the ball downfield, Wallace made a nice catch to seemingly move the chains for 11 yards, but fumbled the ball to give Penn State its first offensive turnover of the season.
On the second drive, Allar and Wallace failed to connect on a deep pass that was almost in reach for the talented wide receiver.
Wallace shook off the rust throughout the game, however, to catch three passes for 44 yards, including a nice long 21 yard catch in the second quarter that included 18 yards after the catch.
Through six games this season, despite missing three games due to injury, Wallace ranks second among Penn State receivers in receptions and yards.
With Penn State headed to Columbus this weekend, Allar will need another reliable target and Wallace’s return to the lineup comes just in time to give the Nittany Lions more explosiveness on offense that the Nittany Lions will need to knock off the Buckeyes.
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Education: Saint Vincent College, Penn State Law School
Location: Washington, DC
Experience:Robert Casturo has covered Penn State football for NittanyCentral since 2022. Casturo previously covered Penn State football through a social media presence (@PSU_FB_Thoughts on X) since 2019. Casturo earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Vincent College in 2015, where he was a punter for 1 season on the Saint Vincent College football team and worked in the athletic department for 2 years as a student manager. Casturo earned his JD from Penn State Law in 2018 where he was a senior editor of the Penn State Law Review.
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