Penn State Football: Week 3 Studs and Duds against Kent State
By Corey Hunter
Wide Receiver – DeAndre Thompkins
Welcome to the party DeAndre! It’s great to have you on the Studs list this week. I’d like to think part of the reason you had a game-high 101 receiving yards is because I called you out last week for all the dropped passes, but that likely isn’t the case.
There never has been any doubt that Thompkins can be a game-changer as a punt returner. All you need to see to cement that impression is what he was able to do last week at Pittsburgh. He took a Panthers punt 39 yards to paydirt to really open up the game. Still, something has been amiss at the wide receiver position this season for DeAndre – until Saturday.
No matter what the reason, Thompkins found another level to go to and went over the century mark in receiving yards for just the second time in his career (Michigan State 11/04/17, 102 yards). He finished the day with four catches and a 25.3 yards-per-catch average including hauling in the game’s opening touchdown – a 40-yard grab.
Perhaps the reason for Thompkins sudden turnaround from all of the drops and miscues of the first two weeks came from his film time with fellow wideout Juwan Johnson. Per The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder, Thompkins and Johnson returned to the film room last week ($) to watch old film of themselves when they were redshirt freshmen, “Just going back and understanding that the hunger has still gotta be there no matter what position you’re on on the field.”