Penn State football is about a month away from opening preseason camp for the 2022 season, and the Nittany Lions will be looking to return to the Big Ten’s upper tier after a combined 11-11 record over the past two years.
Despite the records there was still reason for optimism, but a difficult schedule and a young team in some areas could mean Penn State is still a year or two away. Then again, nobody saw 2016 coming either.
Today we continue our look at each area of the team with a group of wide receivers that has plenty of options looking to fill Jahan Dotson’s shoes.
The Ones to Miss:
It goes without saying that Penn State will miss Jahan Dotson in 2022 and beyond. Few receivers have had Dotson’s hands, route running ability and understanding of the game all at the same time. He may have never been the biggest or the fastest, but Dotson really had no weaknesses in his game and rarely ever dropped a pass. In turn no matter how good this wideout group is without him, Penn State will feel Dotson’s absence from Day 1. The good news, there are plenty of options on this roster to try and help fill those shoes.
The Ones to Watch:
Mitchell Tinsley is the most obvious name here as an explosive receiver and downfield threat from Western Kentucky. Even as a new face on campus Tinsley has already earned the respect of everyone on the offensive side of the ball and by all accounts has done so with many of the same fundamentally sound skills that Dotson brought to the table. Don’t forget Parker Washington either when talking about Penn State’s receiving room as Washington looks to go from Dotson’s right-hand man to an even more prominent role in the offense. Washington can do just about everything, and his ability to catch passes at odd angles has made his catch radius one of the best in America, and has certainly bailed out Sean Clifford on more than a few occasions.
Outside of that duo the pairing of KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Malick Meiga add more depth to the room moving forward. Lambert-Smith looks to turn himself into an every-down receiver while Meiga has size and speed to become a deep threat in the offense on a more consistent basis. Both of these guys working alongside Tinsley and Washington will only help them out in the long run.
The New Ones:
Kaden Saunders a Top 55 prospect in the 2022 class has the potential to be a too-good-not-to-play kind of freshman, and with four games to spend without losing eligibility, it will be interesting to see when Saunders starts to see the field. Penn State has a lot of options at receiver and might opt to shelve Saunders until a later date. That said, if he’s good, he’s good, and Penn State might not have a choice in the matter.
The Bottom Line:
Jahan Dotson heading to the NFL doesn’t help Penn State any but this room has the talent to make up for most of his production. Parker Washington will need to step up into that No. 1 role but he will have plenty of help around him and sometimes that’s all it takes. Mitchell Tinsley is an X Factor added into the rotation that ought to help make the loss of Dotson even more manageable.
Previously:
