In his first season coaching at Penn State, Taylor Stubblefield saw glimpses of what could be.
In junior receiver Jahan Dotson, the Nittany Lions had a stud in the position group, capping a breakout season of 52 receptions for 884 yards and eight touchdowns with one of his best performances of the year. Along with his highlight reel evening in a loss against Ohio State, Dotson notched six receptions for 189 yards and two touchdowns to propel Penn State to a 56-21 thrashing of Illinois.
In Parker Washington, similarly intriguing potential quickly revealed itself, the true freshman securing a critical touchdown at Indiana to open the season and, with nine receptions for 93 yards in a win at Michigan, helping to pace Penn State to its first victory of the year.
But given the Nittany Lions’ struggles on the whole offensively last season, the receivers struggling to find a reliable third option and, at times failing to make a significant impact especially early in the year, Stubblefield sees opportunity ahead.
“I think the potential is for us to take over a game,” Stubblefield said. “We can truly take over a game. 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, 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.”
To do so, the Nittany Lions are likely going to need further development from the receivers other than Dotson and Washington this preseason.
While Dotson has already climbed the Penn State record books in career receiving touchdowns and receiving yards, and Washington’s debut season bodes well for his future, the rest of the room presents ample opportunity for breakouts among its other pieces.
Fifth-year senior Cam Sullivan-Brown will look to bounce back from two seasons derailed by injury troubles in his final campaign with the Nittany Lions, so far compiling 13 career receptions in 25 games played the past three years. Fellow upperclassman Daniel George is vying for an opportunity to make a bigger impact this preseason as well, so far tallying 18 receptions and a touchdown in his 24 games played the past three years.
And in KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Jaden Dottin, Malick Meiga, true freshmen Harrison Wallace and Liam Clifford, and junior college transfer Norval Black, the Nittany Lions have six scholarship receivers with one-or-fewer seasons of action so far in their Penn State careers.
Describing the entirety of the group as “getting better” both among its younger and older players behind Dotson and Washington, Stubblefield described a room that has set out to become a reliable piece of Penn State’s turnaround from a season ago.
“I think that there is probably a little bit more pride,” Stubblefield said. “After last year, they realized that we got to step up our game. They realize that there are some good things that can happen, but they weren't proud to be a part of it, and they don't want to disappoint each other.
“So yeah, I think that they know what they're capable of, and they’re trying to make sure that everyone lives up to our expectations, enjoy the process, and our process has to be in alignment with where we want to go.”
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