Penn State WR Jahan Dotson inspired by recently passed grandmother

One of the few bright spots for Penn State’s football team during Saturday’s 38-25 home loss to Ohio State on Saturday was junior wide receiver Jahan Dotson.

The native of Nazareth in Northampton County accounted for most of Penn State’s offense with eight catches for 144 yards and three touchdowns.

“I can make plays when I get the ball in my hands,” Dotson said via video conference Saturday. “That’s my goal anytime I catch the ball or get an opportunity to catch the ball. Just make a play.”

Dotson spoke to a spiritual connection to his grandmother — Gloria Bigelow, who died in April — as inspiration for the performance.

“My grandma just passed,” Dotson said. “I was talking to her before the game. She let me know. She said, ‘The opportunity there. Just take it.’ ”

Dotson expanded on his relationship with his grandmother Wednesday.

“I wasn’t really able to talk to her much before she passed just because of the whole coronavirus thing,” Dotson said. “She was in the hospital, and a lot of family couldn’t just go see her like it was a normal situation. So I wasn’t able to really talk to her. But I talked to her on the phone a couple of times. Basically the conversation was always, ‘I love you,’ ‘How you doing?’ Stuff like that.

“But ever since she passed, she’s been with me the whole time. I’ve just been asking her to be by my side. To keep me healthy and all those things like that. Look over us, look over the family and just little stuff like that and telling her that I love her.”

Perhaps the most spectacular moment in the game for either team was a 14-yard touchdown reception by Dotson early in the fourth quarter. Dotson used one hand to come down with quarterback Sean Clifford’s pass.

“I approach that as a million dollars,” Dotson said. “There’s a million dollars in the air. You want it, you go get it. Every time the ball is in the air, it’s a chance for you to make a name for yourself, to put the team on your back or whatever it is. So I think every time the ball is in the air, it’s a million dollars. And we’ve got to go cash in.”

The grip strength required to make a catch such as that has been a focus for Dotson throughout his Penn State career.

“The rice bucket is huge for grip strength,” Dotson said. “We have a lot of little gadgets in the weight room that you can use for grip strength. That’s always something that you should use, definitely as a wide receiver. And then, I like to just catch little objects. That’s one thing that I really focused on this offseason, catching tennis balls and stuff like that. Because if you can catch a little object, the football comes way easier to you.”

The potential for a conference title or an appearance in the NCAA playoffs is a long shot for Penn State given its 0-2 record. But Dotson and his teammates appear to have plenty of motivation for the remainder of the season.

“Just playing for each other, the guys in this locker room,” Dotson said. “We all love each other, and we don’t want to let each other down. That’s the biggest thing at the end of the day. We love each other so much, and we want to battle for each other. Just going out to practice every day, making each other better and trying to win on Saturdays. Just going 1-0, executing, doing what our coaches say. That’s the biggest thing for us.

“We can’t focus on what’s down the road. We’ve got to focus on what’s right now. That’s pretty much what I’ve been talking about, living in the present, not the past or future. Just focusing on your daily tasks.”