Penn State’s Jahan Dotson is leaving his mark, just as he hoped he would [column]

Jahan Dotson thought about leaving Penn State after last season and making himself available for the NFL draft.

He considered his decision for a long while, sharing his feelings with two teammates who also were pondering their futures, Tariq Castro-Fields and Jaquan Brisker.

Dotson returned because he had lofty aspirations for 2021.

“I want to have a remarkable season and one that you guys (Penn State beat writers) will never forget,” he said in March. “Every day I go to meetings I write on the top of my notebook, ‘Be legendary.’

“That’s one thing I want to preach this year is being legendary and leaving my mark on Penn State football and college football as a whole.”

Jahan Dotson is doing exactly that.

He was a one-man wrecking crew Saturday at Maryland, where the 5-11, 182-pound senior caught a career-high 11 passes for a school-record 242 yards and three touchdowns in Penn State’s 31-14 win.

It was a dominant performance, the kind that Dotson watched fellow Lehigh Valley product Saquon Barkley have many times for the Nittany Lions when he was still at Nazareth High School.

“I talk to you guys about being legendary,” Dotson said, “and I feel like it’s games like this that kind of put me in the steps to do so. This is what I picture every time I step on the football field.

“I have very high expectations for myself. I set the bar very high. When I don’t accomplish that, I don’t get mad at myself, I just kind of go out and work.”

His teammates say his commitment and dedication are what sets him apart.

Quarterback Sean Clifford can talk about the late nights that he’s thrown to Dotson inside Holuba Hall, at Dotson’s request.

Linebacker Ellis Brooks has been Dotson’s teammate for four years. As a defender, he can appreciate Dotson’s excellence.

“It’s his attention to detail,” Brooks said. “I see how he works every day. He’s a great example of practice promoting performance. What he’s doing doesn’t surprise me. He’s consistently good in practice, so when he comes out on Saturdays, it’s nothing new to us.”

Castro-Fields, a cornerback, lines up against Dotson in practice. He might know him better than any Penn State player or coach.

“He’s just crafty,” Castro-Fields said. “I know what he brings. But for a person who never sees him live, he has things in his bag that are hard to defend.”

Saturday in the first quarter, Dotson lined up on the left side, faked an inside move that turned around a Maryland defender and caught a pass from Clifford alone in the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, he quickly turned inside to catch a 21-yard scoring pass.

“His YAC (yards after catch) were probably crazy,” Castro-Fields said. “He makes plays even when guys know the ball is coming to him. You still have to really guard him to try to stop him.

“He’s just quicker than you think, stronger than you think and faster than you think.”

Dotson used that speed in the fourth quarter moments after the Terrapins had tied it 14-14. He burst down a seam in the middle of the field, caught Clifford’s pass in stride and then outran the secondary to finish an 86-yard play, tied for the fourth-longest completion in school history.

“Once you start making a couple of plays, you kind of get hot, you kind of get in the zone,” Dotson said. “But I feel with my personal confidence, every time I get the ball, I feel like I can take it the distance.”

He nearly did it again later, turning a short pass on a crossing route into a 45-yard gain that set up a field goal and broke the single-game school record.

“He always wants the ball,” Clifford said. “If he could get the ball every play he would because that’s just the guy he is. He wants the ball in his hands because he knows the talent he brings to this team. I want the ball in his hands as much as possible.”

Those hands rarely drop a pass. Dotson’s best catch at Maryland might have been a 12-yarder on third-and-9 in the second quarter on which he leaped high in tight coverage to pull it in.

“I think he’s the best receiver in the country,” Castro-Fields said.

Dotson has 71 catches for 932 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s eighth nationally in receptions per game, 11th in receiving yards and sixth in touchdown catches. If he doesn’t make the All-Big Ten first team this year, it’ll be a crime. He’s a bona fide All-America candidate.

Imagine where Penn State would be this year without him.

The Lions have had many outstanding wide receivers, especially in the last 30 years. Dotson belongs in the conversation with Bobby Engram, Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin when determining who is the very best one.

That’s all Dotson has ever wanted, to have his name be mentioned in the same breath as those guys.

“My dad (Al) was always telling me how good I am,” he said. “(I’ve been) just working toward that goal to be one of the greatest in Penn State history every time I step on the field.

“I just credit everyone around me. People have been pushing me every single day — my family, guys in this locker room, people back home — to be who I am today.”

Source: Berkshire mont