Ask and you shall receive, Penn State fans.

Penn State football interim head coach Terry Smith said after practice on Tuesday that the coaching staff is working towards getting freshman wideout Koby Howard and redshirt freshman Tyseer Denmark more involved in the offense.

The receiving duo’s lack of involvement in the offense was a key point of frustration and confusion from the Penn State faithful through the early weeks of the season. The Penn State offense severely underperformed leading up to James Franklin’s firing and knowing there was untapped talent sitting on the bench made many question his thought process on Penn State’s wide receiver depth.

Smith made it a mission from his first day in charge to switch things up on offense and get Howard and Denmark on the field more. With that, the two receivers got their first tastes of Big Ten action in 2025 on Saturday against Iowa.

Howard reeled in his first career catch for 14 yards in the second quarter against the Hawkeyes. Denmark tallied four snaps. Liam Clifford notably saw a season-low of one snap on offense.

“We’ll continue to push those guys to get more as we develop this pass game. We got to develop Ethan [Grunkemeyer] to be able to utilize the pass game and be comfortable with it,” Smith said postgame. “We’re just trying to find the playmakers and get the best guys on the field that can make the plays. That’s what my job is, to get those guys out there, and I thought those young guys did a decent job for the reps that they got.”

Offensive and receiver changes may be more considerable than nine combined snaps between Howard and Denmark.

The offense notably wasn’t on the field for media’s practice viewing period on Tuesday. Smith said that the unit just had a new install period and worked on getting that going following what he saw from Saturday’s game.

While Smith highlighted Kaytron Allen’s usage and his desire to pull some production from Nick Singleton as the main motivator for the new offensive install, his adamance on harvesting increased game reps for the young receivers could be a key factor.

“My job is to just try to change things up…I’m coming in with a new set of eyes and lenses to see this thing,” Smith said. “I’ve seen Koby [Howard] and Tyseer [Denmark] because I coached the DB’s. I see them every day, and I know what they’re capable of, so I’m going to give them a shot.”

Smith also touched on Penn State’s struggle to throw the ball downfield and create chunk plays after the team’s loss to the Hawkeyes. It’s been a season-long issue, but with Ethan Grunkemeyer now lined up under center following Drew Allar’s season-ending injury, Smith’s looking to the young guys for offensive sparks.

Smith said the passing game has to grow beyond the intermediate zone. Howard and Denmark can unlock deep shots vertically down the field that have really only been seen with Devonte Ross’ play-action touchdowns against FIU and Oregon.

The Nittany Lions are in dire need of game-changers if they want even the slimmest chance at competing with the likes of Ohio State and Indiana. With a bye week on tap to get the offense sorted and more work on starting reps with Grunkemeyer, who’s to say that Howard and Denmark can’t be those guys for Penn State?