As Penn State headed into the 2020 season two things were clear: that the Nittany Lions needed to establish a No. 1 receiver in the wake of KJ Hamler’s departure, and that Jahan Dotson was the obvious solution to that problem.
Through two games Dotson has both answered the call and appeared to be still integrating into that role either by performance or by usage. In either case, against Indiana, Dotson totaled four receptions for 94-yards, although most of those came on a long touchdown reception late in regulation.
On Saturday night, Dotson was a more consistent presence, especially in the second half as the Nittany Lions leaned more heavily on their passing attack. He finished the night with three touchdowns, including two spectacular catches on back-to-back plays, the second a one-handed grab and score. The output sparked by a second half opening scoring drive that included five passes of over 10 yards, Dotson capping it off with a 14-yard touchdown catch.
By the night’s end Dotson had pulled down eight receptions on 12 targets for 144-yards while averaging 18-yards per catch.
‘[It proves] that I can make plays I get the ball in my hands,’ Dotson said after Penn State’s eventual 38-25 loss to Ohio State. ‘That’s my goal whenever I touch the ball or get the opportunity to touch the ball.’
— StateCollege.com (@StateCollegecom) November 1, 2020
For Penn State the second half did offer a welcome sight for fans hopeful to see a more explosive and downfield attack from the Nittany Lions. After entering the offseason with one of the deepest running back rooms in America, Penn State seemed poised to attack teams with a ground-and-pound attack, especially as a fairly young receivers room worked into the fold.
By the conclusion of Saturday night’s game, fans had seen far more of true freshman starter Parker Washington, who grabbed four balls for 73-yards after a quiet outing against Indiana. Fellow true freshman KeAndre Lambert-Smith also managed two receptions in his most significant action so far this year.
While a Big Ten title and the always appealing prize of a win over Ohio State may turn out to both be dreams better served for 2021, the Nittany Lions can take heart that some of their younger options seem to have found their footing — eventually — in Week 2.
‘It’s huge. The kid has so much talent,’ Dotson said of Washington. ‘I watch him every day at practice and I’m just amazed by the things he does. Today was kind of a little preview. He can make plays. The kid is a baller. We have some ballers on this team. They have a lot of football left in front of them and I can’t wait for them to prove themselves.’
In the long run that’s good news for a Penn State team that is looking to get back to the kind of deep and consistent receiving corps that it had in 2016 and 2017. Whatever does or does not happen the rest of the way for the Nittany Lions in 2020, solid outings for two receivers against a team the caliber of Ohio State will go a long way.
But like so many things in football, they’ll have to do it again next week.
