Tag: Jahan Dotson

Jahan Dotson named semifinalist for Biletnikoff Award

Jahan Dotson is now a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, for the nation’s top receiver

Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson is one step closer to bringing the Biletnikoff Award back to Happy Valley. On Monday, Dotson was named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which is awarded to the nation’s top receiver in college football.

In all, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation revealed a total of 10 of the nation’s top receivers as semifinalists for this year’s award. Dotson was one of three Big Ten receivers to appear on the list. Purdue’s David Bell and Ohio State’s Chris Olave joined Dotson representing the Big Ten on the Biletnikoff Award semifinalists list.

Dotson is also a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, which was announced last week. Dotson is the only receiver to be named a semifinalist for the Walt Camp Award.

Here’s a look at this year’s semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award.

2021 Biletnikoff Award semifinalists

  • Jordan Addison, Pitt
  • David Bell, Purdue
  • Jahan Dotson, Penn State
  • Josh Downs, North Carolina
  • Drake London, USC
  • Chris Olave, Ohio State
  • A.T. Perry, Wake Forest
  • Jerreth Sterns, Western Kentucky
  • Deven Thompkins, Utah State
  • Jameson Williams, Alabama

The Biletnikoff Award is awarded to college football’s top receiver, which is defined as any player who catches a pass and is not restricted to just wide receivers. This is a relatively new expansion of the criteria for the award. Of course, no player playing a position other than wide receiver has been able to take home the Biletnikoff Award yet.

Last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner was DeVonta Smith of Alabama, who also won the Heisman Trophy and went on to be a first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dotson will look to bring the Biletnikoff Award back to Happy Valley for the first time since the award was originally presented to former Nittany Lion Bobby Engram in 1994.

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James Franklin knows Penn State isn’t making enough big plays

James Franklin is fully aware the Penn State offense hasn’t been making enough big plays in the clutch

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It is easy to see why Penn State has lost four of the last five games. Explosive plays or clutch plays just have not been there when Penn State needed them, and they have been there for the opponents. And Penn State head coach James Franklin knows it.

Franklin was left searching for some answers following Penn State’s most recent setback, a 21-17 loss to Michigan in Week 11.

“We have played hard, but we haven’t made enough big plays,” Franklin said following Penn State’s loss to Michigan on Saturday. “You take Jahan Dotson out, and we’re not making enough big plays or explosive plays.”

Penn State could have used one more big play from Dotson on the final offensive snap Penn State took on Saturday, but Penn State’s top receiver had to leave the field after getting banged up on the play prior to a fourth down with the game on the line.

“We’ve done that for a really long time, and I don’t know if we’ve had very many explosive runs all year long, so that is something we’re going to have to look at hard, but I think that’s the biggest issue,” Franklin explained. “We just don’t have enough explosiveness besides Jahan Dotson and the offense.”

Penn State is tied for sixth in the Big Ten in plays of 10 or more yards this season (133; Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 203), and Penn State ranks in the top half of the Big Ten in plays of 20, 30, and 40 or more yards this season. But as Franklin notes, a big part of that has been courtesy of Dotson. Dotson has 38 plays of 10 or more yards this season, tied for third-most in the Big Ten. Dotson is also third in the Big Ten in play of 30 or more yards (9; Purdue’s David Bell leads the Big Ten with 11).

KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Parker Washington have a handful of similar explosive plays for big gains, and they have at times come at clutch times as well. And Washignton had four receptions for 92 yards against Michigan in the loss last weekend.

Unfortunately for Penn State, it’s not necessarily just picking up big chunks of yardage that is the biggest problem, but just picking up any yardage on fourth down that has become an issue. Penn State is converting just 45.0% of their fourth-down attempts this season, which ranks the Nittany Lions 11th in the Big Ten in fourth-down success rate. This problem was highlighted in the nine overtime loss to Illinois with failed two-point conversion after failed two-point conversion in the most infuriating loss of the season.

Penn State’s issues start with the offensive line, as it fails to get any kind of push against a formidable defensive front. No matter how much talent is at the other positions like receiver, tight end, running back and quarterback, the old familiar story for Penn State has been not getting the kind of work from the offensive line it needs to win enough key battles.

The good news for Penn State is this week’s opponent, Rutgers, has been known to give up some big plays this season. Rutgers has given up the third-most plays of 20 or more yards this season among Big Ten teams. however, Rutgers actually has one of the best third-down defenses in the Big Ten, allowing just 28.79 third-down conversions by opponents this season, second-best only behind Wisconsin.

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Inside the Box Score: The key stats from Penn State’s loss to Michigan

Inside the Box Score: The stats from Penn state’s loss to Michigan showed some promise, but not enough to grab a win

Penn State was in for a tough battle with the Michigan Wolverines in Week 11, and it showed. Sean Clifford was under stress from the start of the game until the bitter end against the Wolverines defense, and Keyvone Lee made a push to gain 100 yards on the ground after his big performance against Michigan a season ago. But Penn State’s efforts came up short at home as Michigan left Happy Valley with a  21-17 victory to keep their Big Ten East Division hopes, and College Football Playoff hopes, in front of them coming down the final stretch.

Here is a look at some of the key players and stats from Penn State’s loss to Michigan in Week 11.

Instant Reaction: Penn State falls to Michigan late, 21-17

INSTANT REACTION: Penn State had a tough outing against Michigan but showed some fight in a loss to the Wolverines

Penn State has lost to Michigan 21-17 in a game that came down to the wire.

There was a reason why many people were high on Penn State coming into today’s matchup. Despite the loss, the Nittany Lions still showed up to play today.

As mentioned, Penn State has played like a different team the past two weeks. Sure, they had a slow start against Maryland last week. But, they came out to play in the second half and finished off strong.

The run game was very productive today, and much of that was due to the performance of Keyvone Lee. He had a slow start to the first half, but really turned on the wheels in the second half.

We highlight Jahan Dotson every week, which is rightfully so, as he is playing his way to hopefully hearing his name called in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. However, Parker Washington also came to play today, and showed a lot of promise as to hopefully filling in Dotson’s shoes when he leaves for the NFL.

Washington had his second-best performance of the season today, his first coming against Ohio State two weeks ago. That’s two extremely productive defenses that Washington has put up impressive numbers against.

On the Michigan side, Cade McNamara kept the Wolverines in the game for all four quarters today. Haskins struggled to get it going in the first half, but McNamara kept the ball moving in the passing game.

Once Haskins turned it on in the second half, that’s when the Michigan offense really started to click as a whole, and pull off the late victory.

Penn State is back at home next week to take on Rutgers. It should be a fashionable win for the Nittany Lions before heading to East Lansing to finish off the season against Michigan State.

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WATCH: Penn State scores game-tying TD on 4th down

WATCH: Sean Clifford and Jahan Dotson come up clutch on game-tying touchdown and conversion vs. Michigan

Penn State’s Week 11 matchup with Michigan has not been a pretty one, but it looks to be going down to the wire after Penn State scored a game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter. A short touchdown pass by Sean Clifford and a successful two-point conversion attempt courtesy of Jahan Dotson, Penn State tied things up with the Wolverines in the fourth quarter of a defensive battle.

On 4th-and-Goal from the two-yard line, Penn State likely needed to go for a touchdown. So James Franklin kept the offense on the field and let Clifford make the play. Clifford dropped back and then took a shot to tight end Tyler Warren, who got some air to come down with the football in the end zone.

Still down two points, Penn State made the only choice they could in this situation and went for the two-point conversion. And who else to rely on making a play than Jahan Dotson? Dotson came down with a terrific catch in the end zone to things up at 14-14.

Dotson made some big plays on the game-tying possessions s well, as he has been doing all season for Penn State. Will it lead to a big win? We’ll soon find out.

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Jahan Dotson is only receiver in mix for Walter Camp Player of the Year

Penn State football: The Walter Camp Award thinks Penn State’s Jahan Dotson is the best receiver in college football

Penn State’s best offensive player made the semifinalist cut for one of college football’s top individual awards. On Thursday, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced the 15 players who were selected as semifinalists for this year’s Walter Camp Football Foundation 2021 Player of the Year Award. Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson was among those who made the cut.

Dotson was the only wide receiver to be named a semifinalist for the award, which could be a good sign for Dotson’s chances of winning the Biletnikoff Award (although the awards are operated by separate organizations). The list of 15 semifinalists will be trimmed down to a smaller list of five finalists on Thursday, Dec. 2. The winner will be announced during ESPN’s College Football Awards Show the following week, on Thursday, Dec. 9.

Wide receivers aren’t typically likely to eventually win the Walter Camp Award, although last season saw that happen. Alabama’s DeVonta Smith added the Walter Camp Award to his impressive collection of hardware that also included the Heisman Trophy last season. The only other receivers to be named Walter Camp Award winner have been Larry Fitzgerald of Pitt in 2003, Desmond Howard of Michigan in 1991, Raghib Ismail of Notre Dame in 1990, and Tim Brown of Notre Dame in 1987.

Dotson is looking to be Penn State’s first Walter Camp Award winner since Larry Johnson won the award in 2002. The only other Penn State player to win the award was Vinny Testaverde during his 1973 Heisman Trophy season.

The last player from the Big Ten to win the Walter Camp Award was Troy Smith of Ohio State in 2006.

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Jahan Dotson, Ji’Ayir Brown earn Big Ten weekly honors

The Big Ten honored Penn State’s Jahan Dotson and Ji’Ayir Brown for their big games against Maryland

Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson turned in a school-record setting performance in a win against Maryland this weekend, and the Big Ten certainly took notice. Dotson was named Big Ten co-offensive player of the week for his performance against Maryland. And he was not alone in receiving Big Ten honors in Happy Valley.

Safety Ji’Ayir Brown, who sealed the victory over Maryland with an interception returned for a touchdown in the final minutes, was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. It was pretty clear that both players were deserving of their weekly honors from the Big Ten offices.

Dotson set a new school-record for the most receiving yards in a single game with 242 yards, and he added three touchdowns as well. The only other touchdown scored in the game by Penn State was by Brown with his pick-six.

Brown has been having a fantastic season this year for the Nittany Lions. In a year where Jaquan Brisker has been in the spotlight as the top player on the Penn State defense, it is Brown who leads the Big Ten with four interceptions, which is good for third in the FBS.

Penn State will hope to get more big moments from Dotson and Brown in Week 11 when the Nittany Lions host Michigan.

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Lions 7-round mock draft for the bye week

It’s time for the first full Detroit Lions 2022 NFL mock draft!

The Lions are off on Sunday, giving us a little break from the excitement of the game and the unfortunate losing streak that dates back almost a full calendar year. That can only mean one thing…

It’s time for the first full Detroit Lions 2022 NFL mock draft!

Here’s the first projection for each Lions pick in the next draft. The draft order is the current order as of November 6th.

The first few picks are taken from the 2-round mock draft I composed for RealGM this week. Use that as a reference for what players were available for each of the Lions picks, too.

Listen to how Steve Jones called Jahan Dotson’s 86-yard TD vs Maryland

How did Jahan Dotson 86 yard Touchdown vs Maryland sounded on TV & Radio

Penn State got a record-setting performance from star wide receiver Jahan Dotson in Week 10’s road win at Maryland in a game they needed their star to be the difference-maker. Dotson scored three touchdowns and set the school record for most receiving yards in a single game to help Penn State get out of College Park with a 31-14 victory.

Dotson’s third touchdown of the game proved to be the game’s winning score, and it came at the absolute perfect time. After Maryland worked the field to tie the game up at the start of the fourth quarter with a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion, the Terrapins had momentum in their favor. And after the Penn State defense stumbled at the beginning of the ensuing possession with the ball at their 14-yard line, Maryland was one or two defensive plays away from getting the ball right back.

But Dotson had other plans as he caught a pass over the middle and raced away from the Maryland defense for an 86-yard touchdown, giving Penn State the lead right back just three plays after Maryland had tied things up.

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Here is how Dan Hellie called the play on the FS1 broadcast…

Of course, Penn State fans will want to hear how the play was also called on the Penn State radio network by Steve Jones, the voice of Penn State athletics. Jones did not disappoint in the moment, naturally. And Jack Ham was quick to give credit to the offensive line on the play to give Sean Clifford time to connect with Dotson.

Penn State clinched bowl eligibility with the win at Maryland and now prepares for a home game against the Michigan Wolverines in week 11.

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Inside the box score: The key factors in Penn State’s Week 10 win at Maryland

Inside the box score: Jahan Dotson’s record-setting day was just part of the story of Penn State’s win over Maryland

Penn State finished strong in a Week 10 win over Maryland. Clifford struggled in the first half but really turned it on in the second as Jahan Dotson was on his way to setting a school record for the most single-game receiving yardage in Penn State history.

Maryland had some momentum going their way as the fourth quarter got started, but the upset bid ran out of steam as Penn State came up with the big plays it needed on offense and defense to pull away for the win.

Let’s take a look at the box score and pick out the key players from both teams.