Penn State’s most glaring weakness in the waning years of the James Franklin era was wide receiver. The Nittany Lions just did not have difference-makers on the outside for a few seasons after a long run of dynamic pass-catchers from Chris Godwin to KJ Hamler to Jahan Dotson.
That’s one of the reasons the arrival of Matt Campbell felt like a breath of fresh air. Not only was he bringing Chase Sowell and Brett Eskildsen, two of Rocco Becht’s top targets from last season, but he was bringing Noah Pauley, his up-and-coming wide receivers coach who helped develop Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins into Day 2 NFL Draft picks after turning Christian Watson into a second-rounder at North Dakota State.
Then, just as quickly as Pauley arrived in Happy Valley, he was gone, off to coach his former protege, Watson, as the wide receivers coach of the Green Bay Packers. He was replaced by Kashif Moore from UConn, a new addition to the Campbell tree. It was one of the most overlooked developments of the offseason, and Moore’s relative struggles on the recruiting trail shine an even bigger spotlight on it.
Penn State’s WR recruiting struggles may go back to losing Noah Pauley
There are numerous factors that pull recruits in one way or the other. It’s pretty hard to distill it down to just one, even with money often trumping everything else in the NIL era. So, maybe Penn State would have still missed out on Khalil Taylor with Noah Pauley as its wide receivers coach. Maybe Jamir Dean would have still flipped to Georgia, and Deshawn Hall still would have chosen to stay home and go to Auburn.
But even if all of those things happened the same way, Pauley’s track record for developing talent would provide more confidence that the wide receiver still in Penn State’s 2027 class, four-star Landon Blum, would blossom into a star. The same goes for any other wide receiver target the Nittany Lions would pivot to, whoever that may ultimately be.
There aren’t many uncommitted wide receiver prospects left in the 2027 class. So, without flipping Taylor, Dean, or Hall, Blum may be the only one heading to Happy Valley. That’s a borderline catastrophe for a program that is still in need of a significant talent infusion at the position and that will see Chase Sowell graduate after his one season in blue and white.
Moore can still prove himself. At UConn last season, he helped oversee a 1,200-yard campaign from Skyler Bell, who became a fourth-round selection of the Buffalo Bills this spring. Working with Mouser, he could steward career years for Sowell and Eskildsen, or more importantly, breakout ones for Koby Howard, Zay Robinson, Karon Brookins, or any of the young pass-catchers on this year’s roster.
It’s possible; an offseason leap is always on the table for talented players, but with Pauley, it almost felt probable. It felt like wide receiver was solved. Now, it’s as big a concern, at least when it comes to program depth, as it was under Franklin and Marques Hagans.
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