David Corley evaluates PSU WRs, including true freshmen
Penn State has three true freshmen on scholarship in its wide receiver room this fall. They aren't the only newcomers to the program.
Position coach David Corley is also in his first year with the Nittany Lions, taking over for Josh Gattis who left to coach WRs at Alabama. In the second month of his first season at his new job, Corley acknowledges that there is room for improvement but he is enjoying the ride so far.
"Penn State has definitely been everything that I thought it would be," he said. "From a talent standpoint, as far as the guys that we're working with here, your mouth drops open with some of the things these guys can do. Coach Franklin has been awesome. Our staff, working with these guys has bee awesome, and then you walk into that stadium on a Saturday and there is 107,000 people in there that are just all in on Penn State football."
It's catches like Juwan Johnson's one-handed stab against Ohio State that inspire awe, but it's also been the drops by not just Johnson but other pass catchers on the PSU offense that Corley has been working to correct.
He stresses eye discipline everyday at practice, encouraging his pupils to watch the ball into their hands before turning their heads upfield to run. He repeatedly yells "Eyes!" while they're catching routine passes, so he said, "When they get to the game, I'm hoping they hear my voice in their head. We have to continue to work on fundamentals."
As a prototypical example, Corley points to a photo of DeAndre Thompkins catching an over-the-shoulder touchdown pass as how a WR's eyes should be locked to the ball throughout the catch.
He acknowledges how there has been an uptick in dropped passes this fall, so he's been emphasizing the details in order to get those fix.
"They've just been working hard and staying encouraged, and that's a part of this game," he said. "There are going to be times [when] things don't go your way but you have to bounce back and keep pushing forward, and I think they've done a good job of that. "
Despite some drop issues with a couple of the more experienced WRs on the roster, Corley and James Franklin are sticking with them. That means they're also leaning toward a redshirt for each of the three blue-chip WRs who signed in last year's recruiting class. A five-star and two four-star recruits, the young WRs have seen action this season in only PSU's blowout over Kent State. They each have three games remaining to play before exhausting a year eligibility, so it's all but determined that they'll preserve the redshirt this season.
Like Corley, they're still in their first year with PSU and fine-tuning parts of their game. But there's plenty of reasons to be encouraged.
Here's what the first-year head coach has to say about the Jahan Dotson, Daniel George and Justin Shorter ...
“I think Jahan has done a good job, especially for a young player," said Corley. "He's still continuing to learn and grow in our offense and we continue to work him in there every day. He got in a little bit there in the Kent State game. Like everybody on our team, guys have all got to prepare like starters so that when their number is called, they're not afraid to go in there and perform. The season is a long season, so we'll just continue to get Jahan prepared and have him ready when the situation dictates that we put him in there. I'm sure he'll be ready to contribute. He gets better every day.”
“He’s a big strong guy," said Corley. "When we were getting some information on his weight this summer, it was almost like, man, I didn’t know he was going to be that big when he got here. How was he moving? Obviously you saw him out there against Kent State [scoring on a school record 95-yard TD reception]. He can move pretty well at that size. Daniel is a guy who just continues to do well at practice. Obviously right now we have him at X, but all of those guys can move around to different spots. He’s at the X position and learning from Juwan and just taking everything in stride and learning to get better.”
"Justin is a very smart football player," said Corley. "He does a good job of paying attention in meetings. With young guys, there is a lot getting thrown at them when they first get thrown on campus ... with classes and everything that's getting thrown at them. But they're all doing a good job of that. [Shorter] is doing a good job of learning the playbook. Like all of them he's got to continue to master that. Justin has got really good length, and he can run. He can run. And he's very, very physical. We believe that Justin is going to be a really good player here at Penn State and we look forward to continue watching him develop."