STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Devonte Ross knew he\u2019d have just one man to beat. He knew where the football would be and exactly when it would get there.<\/p>\n
For the new Penn State wide receiver, those are the perks of paying attention in practice. The ensuing twisting, one-armed, 42-yard touchdown catch through tight defense in the No. 2 Nittany Lions’ win over FIU<\/a> on Saturday was the payoff.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a special moment for me,\u201d Ross said. \u201cI\u2019ve dreamed of playing on a stage like this at a school like this, so it was a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nittany Lions (2-0) believe more of those moments are coming.<\/p>\n Ross and fellow transfer receivers Trebor Pe\u00f1a and Kyron Hudson were brought in to bolster a position group that\u2019s seen almost constant turnover since 2022. The trio is getting as many opportunities as possible to build chemistry with quarterback Drew Allar through the first three weeks of the season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a stretch where past transfers failed to take flight.<\/p>\n Before Ross, Pe\u00f1a and Hudson arrived, the Nittany Lions had signed four receivers from the transfer portal since 2022. Those players \u2014 Mitchell Tinsley, Malik McClain, Dante Cephas and Julian Fleming \u2014 combined for just 19 catches for 237 yards and three touchdowns over their first two games with Penn State.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Only Tinsley finished with more than 50 catches. McClain and Cephas managed six and 22 catches, respectively, and transferred again the following year. Fleming wrapped up his Penn State career with 14 catches for 176 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n In the last three years, nine receivers have transferred out of the program.<\/p>\n By design, Ross, Pe\u00f1a and Hudson have been much more involved in Andy Kotelnicki\u2019s offense early. They\u2019ve got a combined 29 touches for 343 yards and two touchdowns. All three have played multiple receiver positions through the first two games. All three have drawn praise for their downfield blocking. Pe\u00f1a and Ross also have returned punts.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have a really good group of guys assembled,\u201d wide receivers coach Marques Hagans said. \u201cIf you didn\u2019t have labels on them for which school they came from, you wouldn\u2019t know the difference. They\u2019re all very smart, they\u2019ve all picked it up.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Ross needed a bit more time to recover from an unspecified training camp injury, so Hudson and Pe\u00f1a shared the load in the team\u2019s 46-11 win over Nevada<\/a> in Week 1.<\/p>\n Pe\u00f1a caught seven passes for 74 yards, working the sideline, plus short and intermediate routes. Kotelnicki used him on an end-around run, too. Hudson snagged six passes for 89 yards, including a touchdown on a deep throw from Allar.<\/p>\n Once Ross was ready, Kotelnicki turned him loose down the field against FIU\u2019s single coverage. It was a play Ross said they \u201cpracticed all week.”<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve gone into these first couple of weeks with a philosophy of things we\u2019re trying to get done in terms of building chemistry and confidence in certain aspects of the game,\u201d head coach James Franklin said. \u201cI think that those things could factor in to a degree, and that really kind of revolves around those three receivers, but we need to be more balanced.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n As the program has waited for a star to emerge on the outside, opponents have regularly stacked the line of scrimmage, geared to stop running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. In the last two seasons, Penn State\u2019s passing offense has ranked no better than 66th nationally.<\/p>\n Jahan Dotson was the last Penn State receiver to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving in a season. He did it with 91 catches in 2021. Nationally, there have been 92 1,000-yard receiving seasons by FBS players since then.<\/p>\n Since Franklin took over in 2014, only two other Nittany Lions players have finished with 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Tight end Tyler Warren had 1,233 yards on 104 catches while playing all over the field, and Chris Godwin finished with 1,101 yards on 69 catches in 2015. All three now play in the NFL.<\/p>\n Franklin knows more downfield passing success would not only create the big plays he and his staff covet, they also would open things up for Allen and Singleton.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n With Villanova visiting on Saturday as a final tuneup before No. 4 Oregon comes to Happy Valley on Sept. 27, Franklin has a better idea for what the possibilities are now that he’s seen Ross, Pe\u00f1a and Hudson in action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of great weapons on our offense,\u201d Ross said. \u201cEvery position has great players, so I think we can be really great.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here<\/a> and here<\/a> (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ap-top-25-college-football-poll<\/a> and https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/college-football<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Devonte Ross knew he\u2019d have just one man to beat. 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