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As many expected would happen, Jahan Dotson officially announced he is declaring for the NFL draft in 2022. As a result, Dotson will pass on playing one final game for the Penn State Nittany Lions and thus will skip this week’s Outback Bowl against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Tampa. With Dotson unavailable, Penn State has a new leading receiver in Parker Washington.
The sophomore from Texas should be ready for the responsibility of being the team’s top receiver for quarterback Sean Clifford. Washington has already established himself as a valuable asset in to the Penn State passing game after serving as the perfect complement to Dotson and at times having better performances than his NFL-bound role model.
Washington enters the Outback Bowl already with 722 receiving yards, making him the leading receiver for either team playing in the Outback Bowl (Arkansas also lost its top receiver to an opt-out in Treylon Burks). Although Washington has only been responsible for four touchdown catches this season, he has made plenty of big plays to give Penn State’s offense a lift, which is why Clifford will likely look to Washington in key spots against the Razorbacks when the Nittnay Lions need some big yards.
Washington won’t be the only receiver looking to step his game up with extra opportunities in the absence of Dotson. KeAndre Lambert-Smith will also be a player to keep a close eye on. Lambert-Smith has 31 receptions for 447 yards and a pair of touchdowns this season, and his role should be elevated a bit without Dotson in the picture. Lambert-Smith leads Penn State in average yards per reception among players with at least 17 receptions this season (Malick Meiga has an average of 26 yards per reception with just three receptions for a total of 78 yards thanks to a long touchdown against Rutgers). Lambert-smith has also come up with some clutch plays for the offense and is capable of turning out some big chunk of yardage as well.
Odds are pretty good Penn State’s staff and roster were aware of the likelihood they would be playing without Dotson and a handful of key defensive starters, so it is likely offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has been designing his gameplan for Arkansas around the idea of spreading the ball around a bit more with Washington and Lambert-Smith as the top two receivers. This would appear to be a good week to also have Clifford find ways of getting the tight ends more involved. When tight ends Theo Johnson and Brenton Strange are making solid contributions, Penn State’s passing game is likely in for a big day.
practice one in paradise ☀️ pic.twitter.com/yfVwHzg9aA
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 26, 2021
Beyond the Outback Bowl, the future of the wide receiver position for 2022 looks promising. Washington and Lambert-Smith are slated to return in 2022 to give the offense a solid combo at receiver. The Class of 2021 included a four-star receiver in Lonnie White Jr., but the talented two-sport athlete has already decided to pursue a career in professional baseball after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2021 amateur MLB draft. But the Class of 2022 seemingly made up for it with four-star players Kaden Saunders and Anthony Ivey. It may not take too long next fall to begin hearing those names on Saturdays.
Penn State faces Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on Saturday, January 1, 2022 at 12 p.m. ET.
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