Film Evaluation: WR Harrison Wallace

One of Penn State’s latest additions in the Class of 2021 is also one of its most intriguing. Three-star receiver Harrison Wallace, from Pike Road, Ala, provides an interesting mix of natural ball skills, deep speed and raw ability. While he isn’t the towering presence that’s normally associated with being a perimeter player, Wallace has the skills that translate well to being the primary boundary player in new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s offense.

*Important Note: Scouting notes are based on highlight videos. They should not be seen as a complete picture of the strengths and weaknesses of a prospect. As these young men are still in the early stages of their development, projections are based on potential and development.

Deep Speed: It’s clear from the first snap of his tape that Wallace is a superior athlete to his level of competition. He’s not just fast, but rather it’s not even a contest on most of his deep routes.

Wallace can use multiple gears to get open. He can blow by defenders or slow-play them to create separation with a burst once he’s even with the defensive back. Creating separation is more important than just straight line speed and Wallace shows the ability to do just that on deep balls. In Yurcich’s vertical-based offense, the ability to give the quarterback an easy target is important. It’s hard enough to complete a high percentage of throws 20-plus yards downfield without a window to throw into. Wallace shows a knack for creating those with multiple gears downfield.

Contested Catches & Ball Skills: With all of that speed, Wallace has to wait on a lot of deep balls because he’s outrun the range of his quarterback’s arm. Because of that, he’s forced into quite a few contested catch situations on film.

He exhibits the ability to go up and get the ball over defenders when he needs to. He’s also very good at using his hands to make the catch and doesn’t seem to fight the ball in the air. Even on a highlight reel, his natural hands are apparent.

Wallace has a natural ability to control his body in space and present a wider catch radius than his 6-foot-1 frame. All of this blends together to create a complete profile for a receiver who can be a dominant, No.1 pass-catcher that’s open even when he’s covered.

Run after the Catch: Wallace was typically the fastest player on the field, so he creates angles that other high school athletes just cannot catch up to, but he also displays the ability to make defenders miss once he has the ball in his hands. He was used effectively as a wildcat quarterback and on jet sweeps. He’s not an electric, change of direction runner, but rather a smooth operator who slips by defenders with subtle moves. He doesn’t lose a lot of speed changing directions or angles. He was also used efficiently as a kick returner, too.

Versatility and the ability to return kicks may be a fading art, but it’s still one that is helpful to have. Penn State is still looking for a kickoff returner to replace KJ Hamler’s productivity, and Wallace might be the guy who can put a spark back into that unit.

Route Running: Most of the questions about Wallace are more about his usage and not about his physical talent. He does show some examples of being able to break down at the top of a route and create separation, but for the most part, he’s just running deep. He may have a stiff learning curve if he hasn’t had much teaching about route running or the details that go into creating separation against quality defensive backs. He has the physical tools to be a good college receiver, but he’ll have to absorb as much as he can from receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield in order to become a complete player.

Level of Competition: There were only two full-length games available to watch online, but according to the Alabama High School Football historical Society, Pike Road outscored their opponents 473-107 in 2020. Thirty-four of those points were given up in a Week One win while 28 more came against a comparable opponent in the second round of the Alabama playoffs.

In short, there wasn’t exactly stiff competition for Wallace to test himself against. Half of the runtime of his highlight film is Wallace jogging the final 20 yards of a big play into the endzone. The Pike Road senior did what he was supposed to though, catching 27 passes for nearly 700 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He shows the physical skills in order to play on the college level, but he’ll have to prove that he can play up to that level when he’s tested by comparable athletes.

Short-Area Separation: While Wallace shows good linear speed, there isn’t really any evidence of him creating separation underneath. Once again, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have this ability, just that he wasn’t asked to run too many intermediate routes in his high school offense. While his one trick is really good, he’ll have to learn the rest of them in order to be a consistent part of a college offense

Boundary Receiver: The longer you view Wallace’s film, the more things you find to like about it. From his natural flow with the ball in his hands to his deep speed and catching ability, all the tools are present for the Alabama native to become a leading receiver for the Nittany Lions. While intangibles are always risky to read on film, Wallace seems to show the same mentality that successful Penn State receivers like Allen Robinson, Chirs Godwin or Jahan Dotson have shared in common; when the ball is in the air, there’s usually little doubt who’s coming down with it. He’ll have to prove that this mentality translates from Alabama high school ball to the Big 10.

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