Anthony Ivey focuses on further development in first winter
Anthony Ivey isn’t getting ahead of himself. Completing his first year at Penn State without seeing a snap of game action, the receiver was far from stagnant.
Rather, earning the Nittany Lion coaching staff’s Developmental Squad Offensive Player of the Week in October, and midseason praise from head coach James Franklin, Ivey came out of the experience confident in the foundation he’d built for his career at Penn State.
“The first year was great,” he said. “I’m putting the trust into the coaches, into the staff, trusting that they’ll develop me in all the right ways.
“It was just being mentally tough and physically getting through everything. And obviously adjusting to the plays, the coaching style, the speed of practice, and the speed of the game. So year one was solid.”
Anthony Ivey first season recap
A four-star On300 performer in the Class of 2022, Ivey said he lined up at Penn State’s ‘Z’ receiver position. Said by Franklin to be “further along as a football player” than the Nittany Lion coaching staff might have anticipated, those attributes manifest themselves in practice throughout the season.
Be it through his work in the meeting room or taking advantage of his opportunities to rep extensively on the Developmental Squad, Ivey’s framework was one from within which Penn State could continue to bring him along.
“He’s made a bunch of big plays. He has earned our coaches’ respect. I know he’s earned the defense’s respect being over there on the D squad,” Franklin said. “I think he has a bright future.”
Establishing the potential for that future wouldn’t have come without a firm footing at Manheim Township, though, Ivey said.
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In that respect, he credited his high school coach, Mark Evans, for being able to come to Penn State prepared for some of the game’s intricacies and that of the position.
“I’ve got to shout him out. He did a great job preparing us for this level, coming from a pretty high-speed high school. The flow of the game there was pretty high pace,” Ivey said. “And as far as hand signals at my high school, the routes and conversions, he did a pretty good job preparing me for this level and to be here at Penn State.”
Next steps
Now well into his first winter workout in the program, Ivey and the rest of Penn State’s receivers are operating under the tutelage of new assistant coach Marques Hagans.
Though early in Hagans’ tenure with the Nittany Lions, Ivey said he was confident that the new receivers coach could help develop him further in the weeks and months ahead.
“Catching the ball, I trust he’ll develop me in that way. His receivers at Virginia last year did a pretty good job of not dropping the ball. That’s where I trust he’ll develop me in that area,” Ivey said. “He’s a very great guy, down to earth and easy to connect with.”
