Drew Allar connected with Harrison Wallace III over the middle for a 14-yard touchdown with 4:14 left to go in the 2023 Peach Bowl.
In the 38-25 loss to Ole Miss, Wallace went for four catches, 67 yards and a score — all in the fourth quarter — and led a wide receiver group that didn’t have a reception till the final period.
The Montgomery, Alabama, native hadn’t played in the final four games in the regular season, but his performance was a glimmer of hope for the 2024 season in a wideout room in a dire situation.
After going for five receptions and 72 yards on seven targets in the Blue-White Game, the noise around Wallace is growing, and he’s ready to prove the hype is real.
“I would just say being the player everybody expects me to be,” Wallace said at Penn State Media Day. “Just going out there, making the big plays … make the plays that everybody can’t make.”
The redshirt sophomore finished the 2023 campaign appearing in eight games, starting in six of them and totaling 19 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown. His yardage was third among wide receivers, trailing KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Dante Cephas, who have transferred to Auburn and Kansas State, respectively.
On paper, Lambert-Smith was the No. 1 wide receiver based off of his 53 receptions for 673 yards and four touchdowns, but there was buzz around the program that Wallace held the role as the top guy in the room.
Wide receiver Harrison Wallace III (6) runs with the ball after catching a pass in practice on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 at Holuba Hall in University Park, Pa.
Wallace had seven receptions for 72 yards in the season opener against West Virginia last year, but inconsistencies and the injury made it hard for people outside the program to view him as the alpha in the group.
“He’s in a really good place, he’s had a great summer so far, he had a really good spring and we’re expecting him to have a big year for us,” James Franklin said at Penn State Media Day. “We need for him to have a big year for us, he’s super athletic — probably one of the most explosive guys we have in our program, and I think you guys saw that at times. Where some of the challenges were is the chemistry with all the time he missed with the quarterbacks, that was lacking, so having him back and get all this work this summer and spring has been really valuable.”
With Wallace back to full health, he’s showcased strides on the playing field and figures to be heavily incorporated in a revamped offense.
“We thought he was gonna have a big year last year, and that got limited by no fault of his own. We feel that way and probably more so this year,” Franklin said in June.” He’s a year older, he’s a year more mature, he’s more developed. And I think he’s very hungry, because I think there’s frustration that last year got cut short.”
Coming back from injury is no easy task. It’s filled with ebbs and flows, and Wallace relied on his family, teammates and girlfriend to help get him through it. He said it was “pretty frustrating,” but he had to “stay positive.”
Wallace has been a constant name around the program leading up to Week 1, with safety Kevin Winston Jr. noting Thursday that “he’s playing off the charts.” In a year where the offense and wide receivers have a lot to prove, Wallace is prepared to have a breakout season.
“I feel like I’m there, I’m ready,” Wallace said. “Just from the work I’ve been putting in, the things I had to go through. It’s time.”
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