247Sports’ “Roster Managers” examines the most interesting roster situations heading into spring practices, and what lies ahead for the 2024 college football season.
Should Penn State return to the top of the Big Ten for the first time in nearly a decade, the Nittany Lions must upgrade their passing scheme.
It’s no stretch to say James Franklin’s team had the defense but not the offense capable of winning the Big Ten last season. Things weren’t actually all that terrible with the offense, either, but what was troublesome in the big games — Ohio State and Michigan — was the continued trend of a middling, downfield attack. Penn State ranked 12th in the FBS (36.2 points per game), but the lack of an explosive passing game made the scheme predictable and, at times, one-dimensional.
Gone last season were the excuses. Many believed Penn State was held back with its vertical passes because of quarterback Sean Clifford, and pointed to wunderkind Drew Allar as the long-awaited answer to their prayers.
That didn’t prove true last season, despite Allar’s reliability with 25 touchdowns against only two interceptions. The Nittany Lions’ offense also had the third-best turnover rate. The issue, again, was a lack of cohesion with receivers beyond the first-down marker.
The Nittany Lions in the regular season finished last among FBS teams in percentage of plays of 20-plus yards. At fault was Allar for lofting passes and his out-of-rhythm throws, but he shared the blame. Receivers lacked separation in routes. The scheme was terribly predictable. The Nittany Lions averaged only 11.4 yards per reception (90th in the FBS) and produced only 13, 30-yard pass completions (110th in the nation).
The herky-jerky offense mostly stalled in the big games, too. No receiver stepped up as a legit All-Big Ten threat. KeAndre Lambert-Smith led the team with 53 catches and 673 yards, but the three most productive pass-catchers behind him were tight ends Tyler Warren and Theo Johnson and running back Nicholas Singleton. Lambert-Smith dropped 5.9% of his targets, and Warren was worse, ranking near the nation’s bottom at 10.2%.
