For as much of a disaster as Penn State’s 2020 football season quickly became, the Nittany Lions’ final numbers weren’t as severe as the 4-5 record suggested.
Penn State’s total offense finished 37th nationally with 430.3 yards per game and, for as much of an issue as quarterback Sean Clifford experienced at times, the Nittany Lions’ 256.0 passing yards per game were good for No. 40.
Meanwhile, despite finishing on the All-Big Ten third team thanks to the preponderance of talent at the position, Jahan Dotson emerged as a true threat at receiver. Starting in all nine games, his 52 catches for 884 yards and eight scores were good for 98.2 yards per game and, maybe more impressive to Penn State’s offensive aims, his 15 catches of 20-or-more yards gave the Nittany Lions an explosive play threat it sorely needed.
Having hit the reset button this offseason, shedding the onerous COVID-19 protocols that dominated 2020 for something resembling “normal” this spring and summer, with a new offensive coordinator in Mike Yurcich, the question is if and how the Nittany Lions are poised for an even better passing game performance in the weeks and months ahead.
Dictated by Clifford, his pass protection, the expected improvement from the running back position, and more, will Dotson and Washington be joined by a third or fourth reliable target?
With the Big Ten’s preseason media days quickly approaching and the start of Penn State’s camp soon thereafter, we surveyed program sources and our collected interviews for a better grip on the position this summer:
Receiver
Asked about his impressions of Penn State’s receivers as a whole this summer, Yurcich’s answer is probably as good of a place as any to start when tackling this topic.
“I don't know how much I'm able to really cover with those guys yet,” Yurcich said. “I think we need some game reps before I get into all of the evaluations of everybody right there.
“I like our group. I like our mindset. I think we have a bunch of hard workers. There's some talent there. And there's a lot of room to improve.”
No translation is necessary here.
The bottom line at the receiver position is that, after Dotson and Washington, Penn State isn’t entirely clear on what it has.
Certainly, Dotson and Washington are a good place to start, which is more than the program felt it could claim heading into the 2020 season. Dotson was graded out as one of Penn State’s best offensive performers last season and, though Washington was just a true freshman, his 36 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns were enough to earn a grade of 68.7 from PFF College.
The issue for the Nittany Lions last season, which naturally runs into this offseason, is the severity of the dropoff after those two based purely on PFF grades alone. Whether giving them total credence or not, as a data point, the reality at receiver last season was that Isaac Lutz’s five receptions for 49 yards appeared as the next-highest receiving grade, followed by Cam Sullivan-Brown (56.3), freshman KeAndre Lambert-Smith (54.4), junior Daniel George (54.2), and TJ Jones (49.6), who has since transferred out of the program.
Granted, Lambert-Smith enters his sophomore year in the program at least having the experience of nine games played, 23 targets, 15 receptions, and 138 yards. This spring, he was said to have shown flashes and steps forward.
More questions exist than answers for the next tier of players, though, and they’re unlikely to come until the Nittany Lions progress through the first few games on the schedule.
Malick Meiga is now listed at 6-foot-4, 204 pounds, and is said to be among the most physically talented athletes Penn State has at the position. Is he prepared to become a regular contributor after spending his true freshman season completely on the sidelines?
Fifth-year senior Cam Sullivan-Brown had done enough through the 2020 preseason to earn a likely starting nod, but then missed the start of the year due to injury and never became a factor, finishing the season with just 57 total reps with just one reception for 14 yards. Can he stay healthy and revive the buzz he had before his setback?
Daniel George is now a fourth-year junior coming off the most per-game reps of his career at receiver, but he finished with only seven receptions for 73 yards. Is this the year he sees the light come on?
In that group alone, Penn State has three candidates that, depending on the perception, are worthy of either optimism or some level of concern.
To the optimistic, even one taking the next step would represent a solidification of the unit from a statistical perspective, as the Nittany Lions’ other options at tight end and running back are likely to fill out the biggest contributors in the passing game. (Penn State’s last season with more than six receivers in double-digit receptions came in 2017, with Tommy Stevens notching 12 and Brandon Polk checking in with 10.)
The pessimistic perception, though, would acknowledge that Penn State’s best offensive performances have typically featured catch, yards, and touchdown numbers from three-or-more receivers, making a third reliable contributor that much more critical to the team’s success.
A couple of notes worth passing along come from the “untested” category at the position.
While Penn State is still waiting on a decision from Lonnie White Jr. regarding his future in football with the Nittany Lions or playing baseball as a recent draftee of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the two other Class of 2021 receiver prospects - Liam Clifford and Harrison Wallace - have made positive impressions at the beginning of their time on campus. Clifford in particular is said to bring some maturity and football IQ to the table to go along with initial strong testing numbers. Those two could very much have an opportunity to impress in preseason camp and carve out a role as the 2021 campaign arrives.
Another name generating some buzz this summer, really for the first time, comes in the form of redshirt freshman Jaden Dottin. Still on the light side at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Dottin has come on in the team’s informal workouts, we’re told.
With a range of possibilities to choose from, Penn State needs a continuation of what Dotson established last year, the progress Washington displayed, and at least one breakout in the rest of the group.
Penn State’s total offense finished 37th nationally with 430.3 yards per game and, for as much of an issue as quarterback Sean Clifford experienced at times, the Nittany Lions’ 256.0 passing yards per game were good for No. 40.
Meanwhile, despite finishing on the All-Big Ten third team thanks to the preponderance of talent at the position, Jahan Dotson emerged as a true threat at receiver. Starting in all nine games, his 52 catches for 884 yards and eight scores were good for 98.2 yards per game and, maybe more impressive to Penn State’s offensive aims, his 15 catches of 20-or-more yards gave the Nittany Lions an explosive play threat it sorely needed.
Having hit the reset button this offseason, shedding the onerous COVID-19 protocols that dominated 2020 for something resembling “normal” this spring and summer, with a new offensive coordinator in Mike Yurcich, the question is if and how the Nittany Lions are poised for an even better passing game performance in the weeks and months ahead.
Dictated by Clifford, his pass protection, the expected improvement from the running back position, and more, will Dotson and Washington be joined by a third or fourth reliable target?
With the Big Ten’s preseason media days quickly approaching and the start of Penn State’s camp soon thereafter, we surveyed program sources and our collected interviews for a better grip on the position this summer:
Receiver
Asked about his impressions of Penn State’s receivers as a whole this summer, Yurcich’s answer is probably as good of a place as any to start when tackling this topic.
“I don't know how much I'm able to really cover with those guys yet,” Yurcich said. “I think we need some game reps before I get into all of the evaluations of everybody right there.
“I like our group. I like our mindset. I think we have a bunch of hard workers. There's some talent there. And there's a lot of room to improve.”
No translation is necessary here.
The bottom line at the receiver position is that, after Dotson and Washington, Penn State isn’t entirely clear on what it has.
Certainly, Dotson and Washington are a good place to start, which is more than the program felt it could claim heading into the 2020 season. Dotson was graded out as one of Penn State’s best offensive performers last season and, though Washington was just a true freshman, his 36 receptions for 489 yards and six touchdowns were enough to earn a grade of 68.7 from PFF College.
The issue for the Nittany Lions last season, which naturally runs into this offseason, is the severity of the dropoff after those two based purely on PFF grades alone. Whether giving them total credence or not, as a data point, the reality at receiver last season was that Isaac Lutz’s five receptions for 49 yards appeared as the next-highest receiving grade, followed by Cam Sullivan-Brown (56.3), freshman KeAndre Lambert-Smith (54.4), junior Daniel George (54.2), and TJ Jones (49.6), who has since transferred out of the program.
Granted, Lambert-Smith enters his sophomore year in the program at least having the experience of nine games played, 23 targets, 15 receptions, and 138 yards. This spring, he was said to have shown flashes and steps forward.
More questions exist than answers for the next tier of players, though, and they’re unlikely to come until the Nittany Lions progress through the first few games on the schedule.
Malick Meiga is now listed at 6-foot-4, 204 pounds, and is said to be among the most physically talented athletes Penn State has at the position. Is he prepared to become a regular contributor after spending his true freshman season completely on the sidelines?
Fifth-year senior Cam Sullivan-Brown had done enough through the 2020 preseason to earn a likely starting nod, but then missed the start of the year due to injury and never became a factor, finishing the season with just 57 total reps with just one reception for 14 yards. Can he stay healthy and revive the buzz he had before his setback?
Daniel George is now a fourth-year junior coming off the most per-game reps of his career at receiver, but he finished with only seven receptions for 73 yards. Is this the year he sees the light come on?
In that group alone, Penn State has three candidates that, depending on the perception, are worthy of either optimism or some level of concern.
To the optimistic, even one taking the next step would represent a solidification of the unit from a statistical perspective, as the Nittany Lions’ other options at tight end and running back are likely to fill out the biggest contributors in the passing game. (Penn State’s last season with more than six receivers in double-digit receptions came in 2017, with Tommy Stevens notching 12 and Brandon Polk checking in with 10.)
The pessimistic perception, though, would acknowledge that Penn State’s best offensive performances have typically featured catch, yards, and touchdown numbers from three-or-more receivers, making a third reliable contributor that much more critical to the team’s success.
A couple of notes worth passing along come from the “untested” category at the position.
While Penn State is still waiting on a decision from Lonnie White Jr. regarding his future in football with the Nittany Lions or playing baseball as a recent draftee of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the two other Class of 2021 receiver prospects - Liam Clifford and Harrison Wallace - have made positive impressions at the beginning of their time on campus. Clifford in particular is said to bring some maturity and football IQ to the table to go along with initial strong testing numbers. Those two could very much have an opportunity to impress in preseason camp and carve out a role as the 2021 campaign arrives.
Another name generating some buzz this summer, really for the first time, comes in the form of redshirt freshman Jaden Dottin. Still on the light side at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Dottin has come on in the team’s informal workouts, we’re told.
With a range of possibilities to choose from, Penn State needs a continuation of what Dotson established last year, the progress Washington displayed, and at least one breakout in the rest of the group.
