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Notebook: Nittany Lions assess spring performances

Entering their third week of spring practices, Penn State players joined the media Monday to discuss the program’s progress.

Beyond the standard fare, the likes of quarterback Sean Clifford, safety Jaquan Brisker, and receiver Jahan Dotson all detailing their personal stories and the next steps in their Penn State careers, the media availabilities also offered an opportunity to get their insights on some of their teammates.

Below, a look at some of the notables of the day:

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Ji’Ayir Brown:

Asked about Ji’Ayir Brown, the Lackawanna JUCO transfer in his second year with the Nittany Lions, Penn State head coach James Franklin said last week that he was having “a really good spring” and leading Penn State’s secondary in turnovers.

Monday, asked an open-ended question about the best plays of the spring session to date, Dotson built on that assessment. Describing a practice period in which “Tig” had two “crazy interceptions,” Dotson said that the performance was a particularly impressive demonstration of Brown’s emergence.

“That’s kind of like not really like normal, I would say, just to have two interceptions in the same period, but he made two tremendous plays on the ball, and it was pretty cool to watch,” Dotson said. “I had to like tip my hat off to the defense for that one.”

According to Brisker, the difference for Brown, who appeared in all nine games last season in a backup role, has been his understanding of the concepts Penn State employs in the secondary.

“A big leap is him knowing the playbook, him knowing what he's doing, and what other players are doing, and it allows him to play faster. It’s his second year, so now he's getting his feet under himself. So he’s starting to know what he's doing,” Brisker said. “And then obviously once you know what you're doing, you get to play fast and make your plays that you're supposed to make that you were used to making all your life. So I think it is him getting comfortable with the system and with the staff and things like that.

“He’s doing very good things on the field, making turnovers, bringing energy to the defense. A lot of defensive players are bringing very good energy to the team. So he's very fast and he's one to remember.”

Malick Meiga is one of the young Nittany Lions looking to take strides this spring.
Malick Meiga is one of the young Nittany Lions looking to take strides this spring. (Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics)

Receivers:

On the other side of the ball, the mysteries of the receiver position ahead of the 2020 season have been alleviated this offseason with the emergence of Dotson and true freshman wideouts Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith last season.

Still, the details of the Nittany Lion wideouts beyond that trio remain a point of interest, particularly in the form of last year’s newcomers to the program, Jaden Dottin, Malick Meiga, and junior college transfer Norval Black.

According to Dotson, the potential within the group is legitimate.

“Those guys, they've been making tremendous strides within the program, within the offense, and I honestly can't wait to see them,” Dotson said. “We have a lot of depth in the receiver room with Malick, Jaden, Daniel George, Cam Sullivan-Brown, Norval Black. We have a tremendous amount of depth. I see those guys make plays every day in practice and I just can't wait for you guys to see those guys make plays on Saturdays.”

Meanwhile, Dotson also offered his insight into the development being made by Washington and Lambert-Smith, each of whom is looking to build upon strong debuts last season.

“What I see every day on the practice field is unbelievable just because now that they're getting comfortable within the program and getting comfortable within college football, they're realizing the speed of the game,” Dotson said. “That's a big key when you're a young guy. You have all the talent in the world, but you have to get comfortable, you have to just keep playing and keep playing, and they've been doing that. Those guys are making some remarkable plays, and I just can't wait to see them display it in the fall.”


Quarterbacks:

While Sean Clifford’s performance this spring has been discussed here at length, the progress of his backups Ta’Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux was, is, and will continue to be a big storyline for the Nittany Lions this offseason.

From Clifford’s perspective, the Nittany Lions’ depth at the position has shown promise.

“Ta’Quan is doing a really good job just playing within the system and making big plays at the same time,” Clifford said. “And then Christian's doing a really good job. He's a smart guy. He's been learning a lot and it's impressive to see his development so quickly as a true freshman.

“I appreciate both those guys and I know also Mason Stahl, our walk-on, he's been doing a really good job of playing within the system, knowing everything about the offense just as well as I do, and pushing everybody. I think that that's the main goal right now is for everybody to push each other to make this room as talented and as clean as it needs to be.”

When asked about his perception of the room, Dotson echoed the sentiment.

“Yeah, (I see) a lot of guys who like to compete. They literally compete in everything they do. That’s one of our core values of the team, just compete in everything you’re doing, and they do that at a very high level,” Dotson said. “So it's very fun to come out to practice and see those guys compete every single day and just make each other better. That's the only way we're going to make each other better is competing against each other and making sure that we're all on top of our stuff, so they do a great job of that. It's wonderful to practice with them every day.”

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