It's hard to see a bright spot in Penn State football's wide receiver situation, especially as recruiting took a massive downturn starting in June. The future of that position room remains unclear, and that's not something the Nittany Lions can brush under the rug.
However, the near future isn't so bad.
Penn State has a decent wide receiver room, mixed with reliable Iowa State transfers who followed head coach Matt Campbell to Happy Valley and returning Nittany Lions who are ready to take a step forward in their collegiate careers. Sprinkled in there are true freshman who have some promising qualities as well.
Chase Sowell is one of the wideouts who headline this room heading into 2026. Junior Brett Eskildsen is another who is projected to be a major impact as a pass catcher, but this is Sowell's last season to prove himself on the field ahead of the 2027 NFL Draft.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic provided an early ranking of 2027 NFL Draft eligible wide receivers. Though Sowell isn't one of the top prospects, his talent landed him a spot in Brugler's preseason top 25 senior receivers. He ranked the Nittany Lion redshirt senior at No. 21 in that bunch.
Dane Brugler ranking Chase Sowell as a top 25 senior wide receiver is the hope Penn State needs at that position
Penn State isn't going to have the No. 1 wide receiver in the country, but having Sowell grouped into Brugler's ranking is promising at the very least that the blue and white won't have to hold their breath in 2026 when quarterback Rocco Becht targets one of his wideouts.
In 2025, Sowell made six starts in 12 game appearances and had 32 receptions for 500 yards and two touchdowns. His average yards per catch (15.9) was good for ninth-most in the Big 12.
Now, 500 receiving yards isn't anything immaculate in terms of the production Penn State hopes to get out of its wide receiver room. In 2025, transfers Trebor Pena and Devonte Ross put up 552 yards and 501 yards, respectively. They, alongside transfer Kyron Hudson (228 receiving yards), were expected to make much more of an impact than that.
All three of them averaged less yards per catch than Sowell last season too, and the new Nittany Lion still has a lot to prove in his final year. He has the size, speed and IQ to take a leap.
Also helping him out, he and Becht already have chemistry they built at Iowa State. The two don't have to go through a learning and building period with each other as the 2025 transfer trio did with former quarterback Drew Allar.
Sowell is one of Becht's favorite targets, and that's expected to continue throughout the 2026 season. More opportunities will ideally showcase a personal-best for the wide receiver while playing against tougher conference opponents.
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