Omari Evans shines in Blue-White game as Penn State receivers build connection with Drew Allar
Pick a week of spring practice and you can find clips of James Franklin talking about his wide receiver room. Any given week, he’d be complimenting KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Harrison Wallace III. The two had clearly established themselves as the top players on the depth chart at the position and Franklin made sure to note their performances often during spring ball.
Beyond that, he didn’t seem to have much to say. Occasionally there were mentions of other receivers and what they’re working on or what he’s looking for from them. Sometimes he wouldn’t name players at all.
Saturday afternoon, a leader may have emerged to be the team’s third-best receiver.
Omari Evans scored the only touchdown in the Blue-White game and showed what he can do as a receiving option for expected starting quarterback Drew Allar.
Evans’ performance was the first among the receivers to be mentioned by Franklin when he spoke postgame.
“I thought Omari really stepped up and we need a third wideout to step up,” he said. “So that was exciting to see him make some plays out there. ... He’s strong and he’s physical, and he’s getting more and more confident day by day. As you guys know, we’ve talked about it a lot. We need somebody to step up in that third wide receiver role. For the last week and a half, we moved him into that spot and obviously today was something to build on. There’s no doubt about it. He’s got all the tools. We got to grind through it and continue to get him good at his craft.”
Evans caught five passes for 80 yards in the game, but even with all of the positives, there was still negative to be found.
He did 50 up-downs on the sideline after he scored because of an excessive celebration penalty he received.
That’s one of the things Franklin pointed to as an issue despite all of the plays Evans made during the action Saturday afternoon.
“I should be celebrating and telling the kid how wonderful he is,” he said. “Instead, he’s doing 50 up-downs on the sideline on the Big 10 Network. Not necessarily what I would want to be doing.”
Still, Evans’ performance should help him in the future. Franklin noted the sophomore wide receiver’s confidence, and that could be the final piece for him in putting it all together to become a starter-level player.
Evans, after all, did not play much wide receiver in high school. He was a quarterback that came to Penn State to move to a skill position that he would have to learn on the fly at the highest levels of college football. Now with a year of playing under his belt, he has markers to point to that can be pivot points in his development.
Saturday, despite still technically being a practice, can be a major part of that.
“It boosted my confidence a lot,” Evans said. “When you do that in front of a lot of people, in front of your coaches, consistently, then your confidence is gonna boost a lot. My confidence is pretty high right now.”
Carrying that confidence into something more material — like competing at that level on gamedays in the fall — will be the next step. There is another wide receiver coming to try and take it from Evans, even if he finally has stepped into that spot. Kent State wide receiver Dante Cephas committed to the Nittany Lions in January and should have a major role in the offense.
That being said, Evans could make things difficult and force the coaching staff to rotate more at the position if his play dictates that.
He will already have a leg up, anyway. Evans and the rest of the receivers on campus can get reps in with Allar to build the connection to have success during the season. For all of the ups and downs of former quarterback Sean Clifford’s career, he seemed to always be synced up with at least one of his receivers.
The new starting quarterback will be tasked with building that bond with Evans and the rest of the group, something Franklin said needs to happen to get where the offense wants to go.
“We can’t throw enough (in the offseason),” he said. “Our quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, running backs, we cannot throw enough all summer. And I do think, having the weight room now that we didn’t have last year, having Holuba wide open all summer no matter what the weather is to be able to throw is going to be really valuable for us.”
The start of one of those connections between Allar and a receiver may have blossomed Saturday despite a dreary, rain-soaked day at Beaver Stadium.
This story was originally published April 15, 2023 at 7:34 PM.
