Taylor Stubblefield had one word he preferred to use when describing the situation at hand for his receivers ahead of the 2021 season during the Nittany Lions' preseason media day earlier this month.

Potential.

Boasting a returning All-Big Ten performer in Jahan Dotson and a solid second option in sophomore Parker Washington, the Nittany Lions were poised to transform into something better than what they showed during the program's 2020 campaign.

"I think the potential is for us to take over a game. We can truly take over a game," Stubblefield said. "We have a system that is unique. We have a system that is gonna challenge defenses. So we're trying to take over the game, whether that's obviously on the perimeter, perimeter run blocking, whether that's short swings, downfield plays, whatever it is, we're trying to create this group and this unit where we can dominate game one to game 14 or 15."

Already understanding what Dotson brings to the table, here are the players Stubblefield is banking on to help the Nittany Lions reach those goals this season.

"I'm gonna challenge Parker every day. Parker is somebody who, he's quick, he's fast, he catches the ball like crazy," Stubblefield said. "In spring, he got a lot put on his plate. He had a lot of reps and a lot of responsibility in terms of making some plays and so, this fall camp, we've got to be smart.

:He's got to be smart. He's got to go hard. And his level of play has to increase. So we're challenging him to use his voice more, to not just sit back and kind of let plays come to him, but to go and attack some plays and be a little bit more of a vocal leader. In some regards, the level of expectation for him and for himself has improved and has increased."

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"KeAndre Lambert, he's been working hard and he's been working hard not just on his physical abilities but also his mental toughness," Stubblefield said. "So he has grown in terms of, if something negative happens, to be able to shut the door on that negative event and let's move on. Like in golf, you make that one bad shot and it's like it leads to the next one, and the next one, and the next one. So just trying to encourage him to shut the door on maybe a bad play and move forward.

"He's had some moments this fall camp where he's done a tremendous job of having that light come on that says, You know what, okay, I might not have executed the way I needed to execute. I'm not gonna let that get me down. And you know what, let's get this next play. So he would be one that I think is moving in that direction."

Inside the Den: Next steps necessary for at least one Penn State receiver

"Sometimes it feels like CSB is older than I am. He's been here for a long time," Stubblefield said. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for CSB. He's been through a lot and what he does is he provides some consistency probably that you guys don't see or doesn't necessarily show up in the stat line. But he's a consistent player. He's a player that, when he's out there and he's working, he'll work hard, he'll do what he's supposed to do.

"He's not necessarily a vocal leader, and so right now, I'm challenging him as well, somebody who's an old vet who's been around. He's been around and he's done things the right way. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I do believe that he's going to have some very big plays this season, whether it's going to be moving the chains on a third down, or getting in that end zone. I like CSB. I really do like him and I'm excited to see what he's going to do as well."

"The thing with DG is just always about the little things," Stubblefield said. "He is extremely talented. He's a big body dude who's fast, he's physical, he's one of the strongest dudes on the team. And you know what, we've challenged him just to take care of the little things in all aspects of his game, all aspects of his life, to take care of the little things because the little things lead to big things in a positive way.

"And so, this summer, he's done some of those things. He's been challenged. So the start of camp, he's done some really good things at the start of camp, more so than he did last year. That's a positive thing."

"Malick, especially somebody who comes from Canada who did not play American football really until last year, he's made huge strides in his game and just his knowledge of the game, because you can only imagine the rule changes that he's had to learn when coming to play American football."

"And then Jaden Dottin, he's somebody that is talented. We got to get him out there and playing and getting some reps, and I know that his confidence will go up quite a bit too when he's going against our DBs and making plays and one-on-ones, because he has the ability to do those things. It's just making sure that he has the confidence and the know-how, and a little bit of the motor. Get the motor going. Let's get the motor going so you go out there and freakin turn it on right from the get go.

"They're getting a ton of reps. They're getting better," Stubblefield said of the two freshmen receivers. "Harrison (Wallace) is a player who is extremely athletic. You could tell by his highlight film and what he did on the basketball court. So it's just about really trying to fine tune his skill development as a wide receiver.

"So we're really trying to work on that, along with a lot of plays. (There's) a lot of plays that you got to learn. It's like a foreign language, and you got to try to pick it up and pick it up fairly quickly."

"Liam (Clifford), he's a very focused young man who works his tail off. Both of them are having a really good camp," Stubblefield said. "They're getting a lot of snaps. They're improving every day. I'm excited to see just their growth throughout fall camp, and then just throughout the season.

"All freshmen, all incoming players, they will have a chance to make an impact. All my recruits know that, the current players in the room know that, every day, every year, you've got to bring it. Four-star, five-stars, second-year, first-year, fourth-year, you got to bring it. You got to bring it.

"Liam, he got here a little bit, I don't want to say late, but you got to learn a foreign language, and so the faster you can pick up the offense, the sooner you know what to do. And then once you know what to do, then we can work on how you do it. So we're still in that process. We're still in that process of fall camp where he's learning what to do, so that we could try to fine tune and get to the part of how well you do it.

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