UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Dante Cephas was the biggest player acquisition of the offseason for Penn State, the key player at the key position of need.
Desperately in need of a playmaking wide receiver, Cephas announced in January that he would transfer to the Nittany Lions from Kent State. He had to remain at his old school until last month, then finally joined Penn State and has been settling in for a few weeks now.
Cephas didn't arrive until after spring ball, so the coaching staff hasn't really been able to see him do too much just yet. First impressions have been good so far, albeit incomplete.
"It's been tough to give a full evaluation of Cephas because of just how limited (things have been)," offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich recently said. "I mean, I can tell you after a few practices, but we haven't practiced yet. Just been some drill work."
What has Yurcich been able to tell so far?
"He looks athletic. We knew that coming into it," Yurcich said. "He's a really good route runner. He's got really good hands, got a really good skill set. But on top of that, I just need more familiarity with him and more work with him.
"Haven't been able to see him go one on one yet with my eyes, haven't been able to see him competing against another human being. So it's gonna be an incomplete eval for him."
The biggest question about Cephas is whether he could turn out to be a legit No. 1 wide receiver in the Big Ten. To do so, he first would have to beat out KeAndre Lambert-Smith to become Penn State's No. 1 receiver.
What would it take to do that? And will Cephas, who is taking a gigantic step up in competition from the MAC to the Big Ten, be up for the challenge?
Maybe. Maybe not.
At this point, everything about the receiver is all speculation, because frankly, nobody can say for certain how he'll handle the move from Kent State to Penn State.
CEPHAS' PAST
The 6-foot-1, 186-pounder from Pittsburgh was not a highly recruited player out of Penn Hills High School a few years back. He was only a 2-star recruit and was the No. 44 prospect in Pennsylvania for the class of 2019.
He went to Kent State and produced these numbers:
2019: 4 catches, 19 yards, 0 TDs
2020: 11 catches, 136 yards, 0 TDs
2021: 82, 1,240 yards, 9 TDs
2022: 48 catches, 744 yards, 3 TDs
Those numbers from 2021 are eye popping, to say the least, as Cephas really came out of nowhere to put up fantastic stats. But he dropped off pretty substantially in 2022, although his yards per catch did go up (from 15.1 to 15.5).
THE COMPARISON
We need to be thinking about Mitchell Tinsley here.
In 2021, Tinsley caught 87 passes for 1,402 yards and 14 TDs for a record-setting Western Kentucky offense that threw the ball a ton. He transferred to Penn State for his final year, and expectations were high.
Tinsley, in all honesty, didn't live up to the expectations.
He finished last season with 51 catches for 577 yards and five TDs. At times early on, he looked like he could overtake Parker Washington as the team's No. 1 receiver, but that never materialized.
Tinsley caught seven passes for 84 yards in the opener at Purdue, but those were season highs as he never had more than five catches or 63 receiving yards in a game the rest of the regular season. He did have six catches, but for only 49 yards, in the Rose Bowl.
Tinsley was a solid receiver. Did the job. Made some good catches and had decent numbers. But he was by no means a standout wide receiver, particularly when you consider he was playing with a fourth-year starting QB.
The terrific numbers Tinsley put up two years ago at Western Kentucky look more like being part of a prolific system than anything about him being a prolific receiver.
Is Cephas better than Tinsley, either now or potentially could he be this upcoming season?
That's a really big question, and the answer will determine a lot about how well Cephas will perform this year.
THE NUMBERS
OK, so ...
Tinsley caught 51 passes last year? That's really a good over/under number for Cephas this season.
Tinsley only had 577 yards receiving. That was disappointing. Cephas should be able to top that, maybe with 750 or so being a target.
Tinsley caught five TDs. The expectation for Cephas should be significantly higher, around 8-9 at least.
This would be a good season for Cephas: 60 catches, 750 yards, 8 TDs.
Again, is he capable of that kind of production coming from the MAC to the Big Ten? It remains to be seen.
GIGER'S TAKE
One big factor in all of this, to me, is that Cephas didn't arrive at Penn State until late May. He didn't get to go through spring ball, didn't get to build a rapport there with Drew Allar.
By default, Lambert-Smith should be Penn State's No. 1 receiver to start the season. He's been around the program a few years and finished last season on such a strong note, plus he's been able to work with Allar all offseason.
Those are all major advantages for KLS over Cephas.
Now, if Cephas truly is a standout receiver, he will find a way to make his presence felt as the season goes on. He and Allar will develop a rapport, and Cephas will find a way to make big plays.
Then again, Penn State has a first-year starting quarterback. Will Yurcich rely as heavily on the passing game as he did with Sean Clifford? Especially in light of the team having a strong running game?
Taking everything into consideration, the Lions may not be chucking the ball all over the field with the inexperienced Allar, which means that perhaps no one will emerge as a true No. 1 receiver. Instead, the running backs and tight ends could be the stars of the offense, as opposed to the wideouts.
Ultimately, I see Cephas being a really good wide receiver, but perhaps not a great one who can take over games in the Big Ten.
The good news, though, is that Penn State has so many other weapons that it shouldn't need him to do that in order to have a big season.
