Jahan Dotson steps up as Penn State's top wide receiver

Despite being Penn State’s leader in receptions (46), receiving yards (695) and touchdown receptions (six), wide receiver Jahan Dotson still gets chided, albeit in a brotherly way, by his peers.

“My teammates always joke around with me saying that I’m not fast,” Dotson said via video conference with media Saturday. “Or that it doesn’t really look like I’m running.”

During Saturday’s 39-24 home win against Michigan State, Dotson found an effective way to silence those critiques, even if they are made in jest.

An 81-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“I had to show them a little bit that I’ve got a little kick in me, a little speed in me,” Dotson said. “That was a good chance to get loose. Hopefully, I can get on the board. We track, with our little GPS trackers, we track how fast you were going, miles per hour. Hopefully, I get on the board this week.

“The punter actually outkicked the coverage so I knew I had a little bit of space to just get loose. The one rule that we live by is to never let the first guy cut you, never let him tackle you. I knew I had to make the first guy miss. I made him miss, and my teammates just did a great job of giving me a lane. I got through it, and I was able to finish in the end zone.”

All of Dotson’s receiving numbers represent career highs, even with only eight games because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They also represent a growth in the mental side of the game for him.

“My mentality this year, just knowing that I was stepping into a bigger role and just knowing that I was basically going to be ‘that guy’ for our team,” Dotson said. “Every game, just kill, dominate. That’s been one thing that’s been big on me this year. Make sure every time you step on the field, just dominate. That’s basically what I’ve been living by these past couple of games this season. And it’s been showing.”

Consistency, for Dotson and his teammates, has been a struggle, as evidenced by the team’s 3-5 record. The Nittany Lions will host Illinois for a Big Ten “Champions Week” game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

“Obviously, you always want to be better in any area possible but I feel like this season, it was a learning lesson for all of us,” Dotson said. “Not only me. We’ve got to be consistent. That’s the biggest thing. I had a couple of games where I dropped off. Didn’t really do much. And we had a couple games as a team where we dropped off, and the results have been losses. Just being consistent every single day, every single weekend … just making sure we get our job done. That’s huge.”

Penn State’s offense has undergone personnel changes at various positions for a number of reasons throughout the season. Dotson suggests his teammates have weathered those issues well.

“It’s been difficult, but life is difficult,” Dotson said. “You’ve got to adapt to everything in life. Whatever is thrown at you, you’ve got to adapt to it. That’s been our biggest things this year is just adapting to whatever is in front of us. No matter who the running back is, who the left tackle is, quarterback, wide receiver, we adapt to whoever it is and we just ride with it. “

A junior, Dotson could opt to leave school and pursue the NFL. He professes he hasn’t given that notion much thought.

“Right now, I really haven’t thought too much about it just because we have some games left in front of us,” Dotson said. “So right now, I’m just enjoying every moment I get with my brothers here, just trying to get better every single day. Just basically go out and cherish the moment. Just living in the moment. That’s one thing I live by. Never try to get too ahead of yourself. Just try to go day by day, moment by moment.”