James Franklin details what he likes about wide receiver signees

The Penn State passing game has had its share of struggles in 2023 as the Nittany Lions enter the bowl game ranked No. 92 nationally in passing offense at 204 yards per game.

James Franklin believes Penn State signed some receivers in the class of 2024 who can make a difference in the passing game next year and beyond.

Franklin recently spoke about Josiah Brown, Tyseer Denmark and Peter Gonzalez, who are the three wideouts Penn State is bringing in.

“We love those guys that we’ve got coming in. Kind of different body types, different skillsets, that we think will help that room and create a competitive edge for us,” James Franklin said. “You’ve got New York. You’ve got inner-city Philadelphia, and you’ve got Pittsburgh. We’re excited about getting all three of them.”

Franklin also went into details about each receiver signee, starting with Denmark. The Philadelphia native led Imhotep Charter to a 15-0 record and a Pennsylvania 5A State Championship this past season.

“Tyseer is a guy that we got to know really well early on. Was a high-profile guy in the state. We were able to evaluate him on film but then also in seven-on-seven live in camp,” Franklin said. “Just supreme confidence, ball skills, change of direction. It was obviously very early on that we wanted him. We felt like he had a chance to be kind of a difference maker for us in this class.”

The next guy Franklin spoke about was Josiah Brown. Like Denmark, Brown is a smaller receiver, but Franklin is a big believer in him.

“You know, when you talk about Josiah Brown, he was a guy that we identified very early on – had track times to back it up,” Franklin said. “Came to camp, ran really well in camp. Suffered an injury his senior year, which limited some of his impact on his team and maybe some of the rankings, as well, but they’re two guys that we know a lot about and have been recruiting for a long time.”

Brown recorded 589 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns this past season.

Finally, Franklin spoke about Gonzalez, whose father Pete played at Pitt and then in the NFL. Gonzalez finished with 47 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season.

“A guy that came to camp. We told him the things that he needed to work on, and to watch the improvement that he made was significant,” Franklin said. “His dad played college football, played in the NFL, as well. There’s value in that. And then just really his measurables – height, weight, speed. And then had a really productive senior year.

“I wish some of them were coming early, but they’re guys that we still feel like will have an opportunity to compete come summer, as long as they handle the next couple of months the right way, which I think they will.”