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looking for some of their other seven scholarship wideouts to step forward this spring. Receivers coach Taylor Stubble- field said he saw some hopeful signs from Cam Sullivan-Brown, whose promising 2020 season was curtailed by an injury, and also from Washington's classmates KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Jaden Dottin and Malick Meiga. "It's a little bit different than what hap- pened last year when everybody was un- known," Stubblefield said. "Right now, we have a couple known guys and now we're trying to make sure that we get Malick Meiga, Jaden Dottin, Cam Sulli- van-Brown [ready to contribute]. We do want to have some more depth. "It's going to be exciting to continue to see these guys grow and get better, so that when somebody else comes in during the game, there's not a big drop-off, or there's no drop-off. That's the goal." Last spring and summer, the wideouts and quarterbacks were forced to work out independently, hoping that they would be able to mesh when they were finally re- united in preseason practice. Washington didn't catch his first pass from Clifford until about two weeks before the season opener at Indiana. This year, all that learning took place in person, and the ad- vantages were readily apparent. "It's exciting to see that we're still ac- A n intriguing true freshman turned crucial contributor, Parker Washing- ton was the surprise package of the 2020 Penn State season for many observers. And with good reason. Washington, alongside Jahan Dotson, brought stabil- ity to a Nittany Lion wideout corps that carried major question marks heading into the 2020 campaign, finishing his first college season with 489 receiving yards and six touchdowns in nine games. But did Washington surprise himself with what he accomplished? No. He had prepared too well to be surprised by the success that prepara- tion afforded him. "I felt like I made plays that I worked on and prepared for all off-season and dur- ing practices," he said. "I didn't nec- essarily surprise myself. I was just glad to be able to help my team as much as I could last year." Washington was one of several Nittany Lions who this year were participating in their first set of spring practices. Quarterback Sean Clifford said ear- lier this spring that he wasn't able to meet Washington until fall camp last year be- cause of the COVID-19 protocols, and the first time he threw to Washington was two weeks before the Nittany Lions took the field against Indiana for their season opener. "It makes you appreciate this time now even more," Clifford said. "It makes you appreciate getting with them in the summer. I think guys really realize that now, including myself." This spring, the Nittany Lions were determined to make efficient use of their time on the practice field, Clifford said. For the wideouts, that meant fun- neling their energy into develop- ing chemistry among themselves and with their quarterback. Washington spent this spring learning his second offense in two seasons, a task made necessary when Mike Yurcich was brought in to replace Kirk Ciarrocca as of- fensive coordinator. The former four- star prospect from Sugar Land, Texas, approached that process as a challenge, not a bur- den. The terminol- ogy in Yurcich's offense has taken some getting used to, he explained, but he's enthusiastic about the scheme the Nittany Lions will put on display in the fall. "I'm excited for this offense," he said. "Coach Yurcich does a lot of great things in practice. He brings the juice, the en- ergy. It will definitely be great to see what we do this year." Washington said he considers one of his biggest strengths to be his ability to make difficult catches in traffic. He spends plenty of time practicing those situations on the JUGS machine before practice, and those reps paid off for him last season. He converted on 36 of his 58 targets a year ago, including 15 of the 22 passes sent in his direction in the final four games of the season – all Penn State wins. Now, Washington's goal is to become more immersed in football's mental side as he looks to take the next step forward after a fantastic debut season. Wide receivers coach Taylor Stubble- field tells Washington that he's at a 100- level football IQ , and the Nittany Lions need him at the 200 level. "Really, just getting comfortable with seeing the defenses and identifying what they're doing" are high priorities, he said. "That comes over time, so I feel like I'm doing pretty good with that right now." ■ Washington eager to build on strong freshman season | PARKER WASHINGTON Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics

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