Penn State Football: Grades vs Kentucky

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ORLANDO, FL – JANUARY 01: KJ Hamler #1 of the Penn State Nittany Lions breaks a tackle on his way to a 41-yard reception against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second quarter of the VRBO Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

For the wide receivers and tight ends, it was the same story as the rest of the season. The wide receivers didn’t do much, while the tight ends were outstanding.

This season, Penn State dropped 37 or 38 passes according to Richard Scarcella of the Reading Eagles newspaper. That includes a few dropped passes in the Citrus Bowl as well. The down season for the wide receivers led to the Nittany Lions firing wide receiver coach, David Corley on Wednesday.

Senior WR DeAndre Thompkins led Penn State in receiving with four receptions for 74 yards in his last career game. K.J Hamler, who’s been Penn State’s best wide receiver by far this season, only had one reception for 41 yards, and a carry for 11.

True freshman wide receiver Justin Shorter had two receptions for 17 yards. Juwan Johnson had two receptions as well, and Jahan Dotson had one.

The tight ends played a massive role in bringing Penn State back into this game. True freshman Pat Freiermuth had two receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown, bringing his total up to eight touchdowns on the season. It’s become pretty clear that Freiermuth is going to be an outstanding player for the Nittany Lions for at least the next two seasons.

Backup tight end Nick Bowers also got into the action catching three passes for 32 yards and a first-half touchdown.

It should be interesting to see who Penn State hires as the new wide receivers coach, and what kind of effect it has on the team next season.

Grade: C+

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