Over the past few seasons, the wide receiver position has been a significant problem for the Penn State offense. In 2025, Trebor Pena led the Nittany Lions offense with only 552 receiving yards. The previous year, Harrison Wallace III led wide receivers with 720 receiving yards in 15 games. In Drew Allar's first season at the helm in 2023, KeAndre Lambert-Smith led the team with 673 receiving yards.
Needless to say, wide receiver has been a struggle for the Nittany Lions.
Fortunately, Penn State hired a head coach in Matt Campbell with a prior history of success at developing the wide receiver position. Two years ago, Rocco Becht threw to two 1,000-yard wide receivers, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, eventual second- and third-round picks, respectively. Before that, Xavier Hutchinson put up 1,171 receiving yards in 2022.
Luckily for Penn State, Iowa State's top two receivers in 2025, Brett Eskildsen and Chase Sowell, followed their head coach and quarterback to Penn State. In addition, the Nittany Lions retained Koby Howard, someone QB Rocco Becht said could reach 1,000 yards before the season.
While Penn State's big three at the wide receiver position seemed well established, a wild card emerged in Zay Robinson.
Zay Robinson in 2026
Zay Robinson was one of the 24 transfers who came with Matt Campbell to Penn State. A member of the 2025 recruiting class, Robinson redshirted at Iowa State in 2025. This meant that he came to Penn State with four years of eligibility remaining.
The three-star prospect stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs 186 pounds, making him ripe for the slot receiver position. The Iowa native is explosive with the ball in his hands and is a major threat for yards after the catch.
Coming into the season, Robinson projected as a backup wide receiver at the slot position, behind Koby Howard. With Howard off to a blistering pace (12 receptions, 344 yards, 2 TDs in three games), Robinson's usage was going to be limited.
Robinson found a role as Penn State's starting punt and kick returner, putting up 327 return yards through seven games thus far.
In addition to Robinson's return game, he also had early success. He had his first career receiving touchdown against Marshall on a 39-yard strike from Becht. In the team's following game, Robinson had a career-high 3 catches totaling 34 yards versus Temple.
After Koby Howard went out with an injury after the Marshall game, Robinson was expected to have an increased role in Penn State's offense. Yet, on the season, Robinson still has only 8 receptions for 122 yards and 1 TD.
Where is Zay Robinson?
Believe it or not, despite being the top option at the slot wide receiver position, Zay Robinson has only three catches since Koby Howard went down. There is one main reason for this. Penn State has been using multiple tight end sets, taking Robinson off the field.
Through seven games, Penn State is second in the FBS in 12 personnel usage (one running back and two tight ends). The Nittany Lions run 12 personnel 60.2% of the time. 13 personnel (one running back and three tight ends) paints a similar story. Penn State is third in the FBS in 13 personnel usage at 11.8%.
Penn State runs packages with fewer than two tight ends very infrequently. Penn State runs 11 personnel (one running back and one tight end) 22.4% of the time and has not run a single play without a tight end on the field. This means that Robinson is frequently taken off the field to be replaced by a second or third tight end in the formation.
On its surface, this is not surprising. Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser is also the tight end coach and has talents such as Andrew Rappleyea, Ben Brahmer, and Gabe Burkle. In addition, Penn State's running game has struggled mightily, meaning that extra blockers could be beneficial. The Nittany Lions are only rushing for 130.7 yards per game on 3.8 yards per carry. For reference, those numbers were 174.7 and 4.4 last year at Iowa State.
Despite only having three catches since Howard left, Robinson is actually playing more than ever. Robinson has run 59 routes over the past four games while being targeted nine times. However, 22 of those 59 came against Northwestern, and 20 came against Michigan, two games where Penn State was down big and had to pass the ball down the field. For the season, Robinson has run a total of 75 routes and has been targeted on 15.
While it makes sense for the Nittany Lions to try to utilize their talents at tight end to bolster the run game, taking talented pieces like Zay Robinson out of the game is to the team's detriment. Robinson is much too explosive with the ball in his hands to take off the field, especially with the injury to Koby Howard. Add in a questionable Chase Sowell for a second straight week, and Robinson should really be on the field.
Instead, Rocco Becht looks the worst he has in his career. Becht has looked flustered at times, throwing bad interceptions late or missing playmakers down the field. A simple solution is taking one or two tight ends off the field. Sacrifice an already non-existent run game and throw screens and short passes to guys like Zay Robinson. Four-yard passes to Gabe Burkle are not getting it done.
In Penn State's upcoming game against Purdue, where Howard and Sowell are questionable, maximizing Zay Robinson's talent could be the shot in the arm the Penn State offense needs.
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