Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 4 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M WIDE RECEIVERS 2021 vs. 2022: Stock Up Or Down? You can't lose a player like Jahan Dotson without seeing your stock take a hit, at least in the short term. Dotson was an absurdly productive wideout the past two seasons, totaling 143 catches for 2,066 yards and 20 touch- downs over the final 21 games of his career. There's a reason he was the 16th player off the board in the NFL Draft this past April. Still, given the return of last year's second- and third-leading receivers in sophomores Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, the arrival of coveted transfer Mitchell Tinsley from Western Kentucky and the abun- dance of young talent that PSU has amassed, Dotson's loss seems surviv- able, more like a market correction than a run on the banks. Nine of the wideouts in assistant coach Taylor Stubblefield's room re- ceived four-star ratings from at least one of the major online recruiting networks coming out of high school. Potential and productivity are two dif- ferent things, of course, but filling a room full of elite high school prospects is a good place to start. X-Factor How will Tinsley fare as a Power Five player? Although he's in his fifth year of college football, he's never played on a team that competes at this level. He spent his first two years at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College before moving on to Western Kentucky ahead of the 2020 season. Tinsley certainly got the job done while playing for the Hilltoppers, catch- ing 130 passes for 1,779 yards and 18 touchdowns in his two seasons at the Conference USA school. He went up against two Big Ten teams last year, totaling 11 catches for 195 yards against Indiana and Michigan State, so there's reason for optimism. Freshman Outlook Six of the Nittany Lions' 11 scholarship wideouts will have freshman eli- gibility, so it's not just possible that one or two of the young guys will make an impact this fall. It's all but mandatory — at least if the Nittany Lions are going to boast the kind of versatile and dynamic passing attack they want to field in 2022. Two of those freshman-eligible players have been on campus since last summer: Liam Clifford and Harrison Wallace III. Kaden Saunders and Omari Evans arrived in January as early enrollees in the Lions' 2022 class, while Anthony Ivey and Tyler Johnson joined them a few months later. Saunders had 3 catches for 18 yards in the Blue-White Game. Aside from the three projected starters, only one returning Penn State receiver has caught a pass to date. That's redshirt sophomore Malick Meiga with 3 catches for 78 yards. The dearth of proven experience means that the door is open for one or more of those freshmen to see action. — Matt Herb Scholarship Players (11) NO. PLAYER CL. HT. WT. 5 Mitchell Tinsley Sr.+ 6-1 203 19 Jaden Dottin R-So. 6-2 191 13 KeAndre Lambert-Smith So. 6-1 188 80 Malick Meiga So. 6-4 203 3 Parker Washington So. 5-10 212 82 Liam Clifford R-Fr. 6-1 200 85 Harrison Wallace III R-Fr. 6-1 191 18 Omari Evans Fr. 6-0 179 12 Anthony Ivey Fr. 5-11 180 8 Tyler Johnson Fr. 6-0 175 7 Kaden Saunders Fr. 5-10 178 Quick Facts Position coach: Taylor Stubblefield (third season) Returning starters: KeAndre Lambert-Smith (18 career starts), Parker Washington (16) Departing starter: Jahan Dotson (38) Projected new starter: Mitchell Tinsley Top reserves: Liam Clifford, Jaden Dottin, Malick Meiga, Harrison Wallace III Newcomers: Omari Evans, Anthony Ivey, Tyler Johnson, Kaden Saun- ders, Mitchell Tinsley Moved in: Mason Stahl Moved out: None True freshman Kaden Saunders enrolled in January and took part in spring practice. He caught 3 passes for 18 yards in the Blue-White Game. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL