Even without Jahan Dotson, Penn State's WR depth on display

STATE COLLEGE — When Jahan Dotson left for the NFL, Penn State saw a third of its receiving yards (1,182) and half of its receiving touchdowns (12) from 2021 walk out of the door. The Washington Commanders’ gain was the Nittany Lions’ loss.

But Penn State focused on reloading after Dotson’s departure. James Franklin’s program added five scholarship wide receivers in the offseason. Western Kentucky’s Mitchell Tinsley transferred in, and Omari Evans, Kaden Saunders, Anthony Ivey and Tyler Johnson joined in the 2022 recruiting class.

Those newcomers, plus the wideouts already on the roster, eyed the post-Dotson vacuum as an opportunity during spring and fall camp. That bred competition.

“You just had to work,” redshirt freshman receiver Harrison “Trey” Wallace III said Saturday after Penn State’s 46-10 win over Ohio. “Guys are coming in to play, and you want to play, too. You just have to keep grinding and getting better every single day.”

That progress and depth at receiver already has shown up two games into the 2022 campaign, and, in particular, against the Bobcats. Seventeen players caught passes in the commanding win over Ohio. Eight of them were wideouts.

Parker Washington helping Sean Clifford with a 35-yard catch-and-run — one that nearly was a tiptoe 41-yard touchdown — wasn’t a shocker. Neither was Tinsley securing his second touchdown in as many weeks. But redshirt sophomore Jaden Dottin starting and snagging his first collegiate catch on Penn State’s first play was a surprise. A few plays later, Wallace brought down his first of four catches.

When true freshman Drew Allar entered for Clifford in the third quarter, he connected with Evans on a 32-yard score for the former four-star prospect’s first catch. Saunders tallied two receptions for 21 yards. Malick Meiga, after putting in work on special teams, also was rewarded with a couple catches.

In all, 10 receivers saw the field, including Liam Clifford and walk-on Grayson Kline.

“To be able to get Trey involved, get Omari involved, Kaden Saunders, my brother, Malick Meiga, across the board it was nice to get them in,” Clifford said. “You see the talent they have there. It’s just hard when you have three guys who can make plays like they do. But, at the same time, it’s all about competition. We just keep talking about it. But it really is a competitive environment right now.”

Will 10 wide receivers see the field this week against Auburn? Probably not. At Purdue, only three wideouts recorded catches: Washington, Tinsley and KeAndre Lambert-Smith.

But Saturday was yet another opportunity — in a way, an extension of training camp — for the likes of Wallace, Dottin and Evans to push for that fourth and fifth role in the offense. And, if one of them makes a play Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, it’ll be because they earned their way into the rotation.

“It all starts in the offseason, working together, working hard, pushing each other. That allows us to have a great amount of depth out there,” Washington said. “I definitely was excited to see that. Guys are always ready to step up. So I was excited for them.”