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Penn State freshman receiver Peter Gonzalez out with 'long-term' injury

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•08/13/24
Peter Gonzalez Penn State Football On3
Penn State wide receiver commit Peter Gonzalez (middle) with his mother Mandy (left) and father Pete (right). (Photo: Gonzalez family)

Penn State will be without a promising young freshman for at least “a little while,” with receiver Peter Gonzalez dealing with a “long-term” injury, according to head coach James Franklin.

Franklin met with reporters on Tuesday night and disclosed the injury, which BlueWhiteIllustrated.com then reported on.

Gonzalez had been turning heads since his arrival on campus, as much for his athletic ability as anything else. His physicality could have earned him a place on the field early on, though that may remain the case depending on the length of his injury.

At Big Ten Media Days, Franklin offered some insight into the young player.

“I do know Peter came in and tested really well,” Franklin said. “He’s one of our bigger wide receivers. He jumped really well. He ran really well. He’s like 205 pounds right now. He’s a big, physical athlete.”

Coming out of high school, Peter Gonzalez was a three-star prospect and ranked as the No. 802 overall player in the nation. He checked in as the No. 123 wide receiver in his class and the No. 18 overall player from the state of Pennsylvania, hailing from Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic.

Even without Peter Gonzalez, expectations high

Even if Peter Gonzalez is out for an extended period of time, the outlook remains bright for the Penn State offense.

Quarterback Drew Allar is back and has been reinvigorated by the arrival of new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. The talented quarterback is eager to show what he can do.

“I’m really excited. Like, there’s a lot of things I can do in this offense that I think it’s going to be cool to put on tape, and I think it’s going to cause stress for defenses,” Allar said. ““Like, there’s a lot of pre-snap stuff you can do, but there’s also a lot of post-snap stuff you can do that’s going to just cause stress on defenses, challenge their rules and coverages, certain coverages.”

Penn State, of course, will be doing its best this season to get over the hump against rivals Michigan and Ohio State.

Having a dangerous offense would be an excellent first step.

“it’s been really cool to see how creative we can be on offense, and how simple it is for us, but how much stress it can cause for a defense,” Allar said.