Penn State’s wide receivers struggled mightily in the Nittany Lion’s Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Notre Dame and that performance led both Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans to exit the program and enter the transfer portal. Then, on Sunday, Wallace committed to play his final collegiate season at Ole Miss, landing with Lane Kiffin and the Rebels after they narrowly missed out on the 12-team CFP this season.
Wallace was Penn State’s No. 1 wide receiver in 2024, the program’s first season with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. He caught a career-high 46 passes for 720 yards and four touchdowns, though the Nittany Lions were led in the passing game by Mackey Award-winning tight end Tyler Warren, who is heading to the NFL. With Wallace, Evans, and Warren all gone, Kotelnicki and quarterback Drew Allar will need to lean heavily on James Franklin’s two pass-catching additions from the transfer portal, former USC wide receiver Kyron Hudson and former Troy wide receiver Devonte Ross.
While Wallace was Penn State’s top wide receiver in 2024, his portal destination is surprising because it’s not the first time that Wallace has been nearly shut down since taking over that role. Wallace first became WR1 in the 2023 Peach Bowl, against Ole Miss. After battling injuries for much of the 2023 season, Wallace usurped KeAndre Lambert-Smith on the bowl-game depth chart and caught four passes for 67 yards and a touchdown against the Rebels. However, all of that production came in garbage time of a 38-25 Ole Miss victory. Allar failed to complete a pass to a wide receiver, including Wallace until Penn State was trailing 31-17 with 13:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss completely held Wallace in check and the Montgomery, Alabama native appeared to be outmatched by SEC athletes on the outside. Then, Notre Dame and Ohio State both limited his effectiveness in 2024, so it’s interesting to see Kiffin’s faith in Wallace to essentially replace Tre Harris, who caught 60 passes for 1,030 yards and seven touchdowns in just eight games this season.