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Penn State Football: Grades vs. Indiana

By Dylan Burd

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 16: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms up before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium on November 16, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 16: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions warms up before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium on November 16, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 16: KJ Hamler #1 of the Penn State Nittany Lions catches a pass against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 16, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 16: KJ Hamler #1 of the Penn State Nittany Lions catches a pass against the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on November 16, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

B-. . . . THE PASS CATCHERS

This performance from the pass catchers further reinforced what the Minnesota game showed us: Penn State lacks depth at the wide receiver position.

After a bad game by Justin Shorter last week, Dan Chisena started in place of him. However, he had no receptions in this game. Following the injury to K.J Hamler in the first quarter, Penn State couldn’t get anything going through the air at all and were largely dependent on their rushing game.

Once Hamler was out of the game, Daniel George, Justin Shorter, and Mac Hippenhammer switched off taking his place. Of those three receivers, Hippenhammer was the only one to catch a pass as he had one reception for 15 yards.

K.J Hamler ended up being Penn State’s leading receiver in the game despite playing less than a quarter. He had two receptions for 52 yards. The only other wide receiver to catch a pass in the game aside from Hamler and Hippenhammer was Jahan Dotson, who had two catches for 30 yards.

James Franklin seemed optimistic in the press conference that K.J Hamler will be ready to go against Ohio State, and after watching this game, it’s clear Penn State wouldn’t fare well without him.

Both tight ends contributed in this game, as Pat Freiermuth had two catches for 32 yards, and Nick Bowers had a 12-yard touchdown catch. With the lack of receiver depth, I’d love to see Bowers more involved in the offense next week.

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