Penn State was hurting for wide receiver talent on its run to the College Football Playoff national championship, and now James Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki may be as desperate as ever to add to that position group. The Nittany Lions have done a great job retaining talent for 2025, but their top two wide receivers Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans are both transferring away from the program.
Franklin has already added Kyron Hudson from USC and Devonte Ross from Troy to take over at wide receiver next season, but those moves were made before Wallace and Evans entered the portal. Now, with the portal cycle nearly over, Penn State is out of options and could have to wait until the portal reopens in the Spring to add depth unless Franklin wants to take a flyer on former five-star Johntay Cook II.
Cook was a 247Sports Composite five-star in the 2023 high school class, but after two seasons at Texas, he transferred to Washington this offseason, where he stayed for just two days. Cook and Washington head coach Jedd Fisch decided to mutually part ways, making Cook one of the few available wide receivers still remaining in the transfer portal.
The 6-foot 180-pound sophomore caught eight passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns in an underwhelming second season for the Longhorns. He also caught eight passes as a freshman in 2023. Despite disappointing production, there is still plenty of belief throughout college football in Cook’s abilities, and Penn State, which has national championship aspirations in 2025, may consider taking a chance on that talent.
247Sports ranks Cook as the 14th best wide receiver in the portal this offseason, the highest-ranked receiver who remains unsigned. The next highest-ranked unsigned wide receivers are Wallace at No. 17, Cortez Braham Jr. at No. 105, and Casey Cain at No. 106.
Franklin and Kotelnicki may believe in Hudson, Ross, and a group of young receivers led by rising redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark, but if not, a move for Cook could be worth the risk.
Losing Wallace and Evans, who combined for zero catches in Penn State's Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame is far from disastrous for a program returning quarterback Drew Allar and the star-studded backfield of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. However, Franklin failed to fix the biggest weakness on the 2024 roster, even if Hudson and Ross are slight upgrades.