2 0 1 8 S E A S O N P R E V I E W
and Polk – combined to account for 98
yards per game.
OUTLOOK The receiver corps was one
of Penn State's bigger assets during its
return to national prominence over the
past two seasons, as Hamilton and Chris
Godwin established themselves as two
of the best wideouts in the country, and
even complementary players such as
Blacknall and Charles had their mo-
ments in the spotlight. The receiver
corps may again prove to be a team
strength in 2018. But for the Nittany
Lions to make the most of their talent at
the quarterback position and keep their
passing o=ense atop the Big Ten, they
will need not just one but several of their
freshman wideouts to make a major im-
pact right away. Fortunately for the
Lions, receiver is one of those spots
where it's not unheard of, or even all that
unusual, for a foot on
Blue-White Saturday, but there's been
no talk of him missing time in the fall.
Thompkins has been a model of consis-
tency, catching 27 passes for 440 yards
as a redshirt sophomore and 28 for 443
yards as a junior. With Hamilton gone,
he's moving to the slot this year. Polk
will be looking to parlay his excellent
speed into a bigger role a>er catching 17
passes in his . And that's only the beginning.
Penn State has the chance to be six-deep
at the wide receiver position with the
emergence of Hamler and Hippenham-
mer in spring practice. Thompkins has
58 career receptions for 916 yards, and
the Lions also bring back Polk. Redshirt
freshman Sullivan-Brown performed
well in the Blue-White Game, and you
can't overlook Penn State's true fresh-
man class featuring Shorter, Dotson and
George. Shorter has the ability to have a
major impact this fall.
■
SLOT RECEIVER
NO NAME HT WT YEAR
3
DeAndre Thompkins 5-11 188 Sr./Sr.
1
K.J. Hamler 5-9 176 So./Fr.
81 Cam Sullivan-Brown 6-0 189 So./Fr.
WIDE RECEIVER - Z
10 Brandon Polk 5-9 180 Sr./Jr.
12 Mac Hippenhammer 5-11 185 So./Fr.
5 Jahan Dotson 5-11 175 Fr./Fr.
WIDE RECEIVER - X
84 Juwan Johnson 6-4 231 Sr./Jr.
6 Justin Shorter 6-4 226 Fr./Fr.
86 Daniel George 6-2 210 Fr./Fr.
OR
OR
JUWAN
JOHNSON
Steve Manuel
OR
