It feels redundant to write about Penn State’s wideouts and their struggles once more, but each game is getting increasingly befuddling.

Leading up to James Franklin’s firing, a lot of Penn State fans expressed their disappointment in the fact that young talents Koby Howard and Tyseer Denmark weren’t getting a fair shot to make an impact on offense, especially when coupled with the fact that Devonte Ross, Kyron Hudson, and Trebor Peña hadn’t produced explosivity on the field up to that point.

So, when Terry Smith announced that he was going to give Howard and Denmark more reps at his post-practice media availability following Penn State’s loss to Iowa, it was a big deal. It felt like the program was going to find at least some positivity in the aftermath of devastating losses and an anticlimactic end to the Franklin era. It felt like change was coming, for what it was worth.

Yet, here we are almost three weeks later, and the promise just hasn’t been delivered. To be fair, the only game since Iowa has been the loss to Ohio State, but Smith reiterated and emphasized the fact that Howard and Denmark would have large roles against the Buckeyes. And what happened in those two games against Iowa and Ohio State, you ask?

17 total snaps between the two young wideouts. 17. After all of that talk about getting them more involved and trying to fix Penn State’s vertical passing game, which has stunted the Nittany Lions’ offense in 2025, the pair got 17 snaps.

It’s not like the young bucks let their opportunities go to waste, either, especially Howard. He caught one ball against the Hawkeyes for 14 yards in the second quarter as Penn State’s offense started humming. Yet, he only received five total snaps that game.

Fast forward to Saturday against the Buckeyes. A new offensive install announced the week prior seemingly primed Howard for competitive reps with Ross, Hudson, and Peña. Wrong again.

Howard’s snap count increased to seven. He caught one more ball, a 26-yard dart from Ethan Grunkemeyer in the fourth quarter, in a much-needed boost of energy at the end of the game. Grunkemeyer would throw an interception on 4th-and-goal to end that drive, but that’s neither here nor there.

Yet, it’s all the same from Smith following that whole experiment over the last few weeks.

“We’re continuing to examine that,” Smith said Monday in regards to the two receivers’ inclusion in the offense. “You know, you almost sound like a broken record, right? We keep saying that. It’s my job to make sure it gets changed. It will get changed this week.”

But that’s what he said last week. And the week before that. It gets to a point where there’s no other thing to ask except, when will it really get changed? What does it have to take?

Here’s another thing: Ohio State was Howard’s fourth game for Penn State. If he plays one more snap, he burns his redshirt. And Penn State should not be worried about that in the slightest.

Howard, among others like Chaz Coleman, should be at the top of Penn State’s list of players it needs to retain in the upcoming transfer portal. Penn State cannot afford to lose a valuable talent like Howard at such a crucial offensive position.

The only way Penn State can ensure it’s putting its best foot forward in retaining Howard is to play him. Not just letting him trot out onto the field and playing cleanup when the game is already lost, but really playing him. Let Howard get the feel of starting a game, going down on the first drive and scoring. Penn State hasn’t been too shabby in the first quarter since Franklin was fired, either.

Let the kid ball out. Put the ball in his hands. Let him see that Penn State is the place to be for him to develop into the star playmaker that everyone in the Lasch Building sees and knows him to be, including Smith. Being able to showcase his talent and win over the Penn State faithful is the only way he can process this disaster of a season and still want to run it back next year.

Grunkemeyer at quarterback is a perfect gateway to this as well. They’ve had extensive time together on the second team and have flashed their chemistry through the last two games when Howard checked in.

“He’s an explosive receiver, and I think part of the reason of that is his confidence. I may not have talked about this before, but as soon as he got here, he was texting me like ‘hey, let’s go get some throws in,'” Grunkemeyer said on Tuesday. “Even in the season, he’s like ‘let’s get some extra throws.’ And I think that just, when you have a guy like that that wants the ball, wants to be able to contribute, I think that’s super exciting for me for me, because I know on Saturdays I’m going to be able to trust him.”

Only time will tell if Smith and Andy Kotelnicki will actually start to listen to themselves. We’ll find out on Saturday against Indiana.