Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1445781
W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Emerging stars Parker Washington, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Smith Vilbert show the potential to be difference-makers for the Nittany Lions next fall I t may not offer much in the way of consolation, but Penn State did beat Arkansas at something during its appear- ance in the Outback Bowl. The Nittany Lions produced the game's most rewatchable highlight. On third-and-six from his own 29-yard line early in the second quarter, quarterback Sean Clifford hurled a 20-yard pass to sophomore receiver Parker Washington. It would have been a sure first down except for one thing: Washington was only about 16 yards past the line of scrimmage. With Razorbacks safety Greg Brooks Jr. trailing him, Wash- ington swiveled around just as the ball was about to sail over his head. Instead of giving up on it, though, he lunged back- ward as if trying to clear an invisible high-jump bar and ex- tended his right arm. The aerobatic maneuver was dazzling, and even more im- pressive was what happened next: The overthrown ball mi- raculously stuck to his fingertips. Washington pulled it into his chest, falling to the turf for a 19-yard gain. "I wanted to come down with it any way possible," he said afterward. "It had to be one-handed this time. I think I was more juiced up [because it was a] third-down completion. I was definitely excited to keep the drive going to see our offense make more plays." The Nittany Lions made exactly five more plays on that possession, the last of which was a punt. In the end, they didn't make nearly enough plays to prevent a 24-10 loss to the Razorbacks. But of the plays they did make, a substantial percentage were by Washington. The 5-foot-10, 207-pound wideout was targeted eight times and caught seven of those passing attempts for 98 yards, including a 42-yarder on Penn State's opening drive. M AT T H E R B | M AT T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Helping Hands F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 2 1