ALTOONA, Pa. -- It's been a crazy week for Penn State's wide receiver situation, and when all is said and done, the past four days will have a gigantic impact on how successful the Nittany Lions can be next season.
If you're keeping score: Penn State fired wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield on Sunday, then added highly sought-after transfer Dante Cephas from the transfer portal less than an hour later. Wednesday saw one player come into the program from the portal, while another departed.
James Franklin added a key target from the transfer portal today when receiver Malik McClain committed to Penn State. A little bit later in the day, the Lions lost receiver Jaden Dottin to the transfer portal.
McClain played the past two seasons at Florida State and will have two years of eligibility at Penn State. He didn't have great numbers for the Seminoles but did get a lot of experience and can add depth to the Lions' wide receiver corps.
McClain caught 16 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman in 2021, then 17 passes for 206 yards and three scores this past season. He's 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds, so he has good size on the outside.
McClain was a very highly rated recruit in high school coming out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He was a 4-star recruit and the No. 42 high school wide receiver in the country in the class of 2021. He's originally from Daphne, Ala., where he also played basketball and ran track.
Here's what 247Sports wrote about him coming out of high school:
A big body with a long arms and long legs. All of his 6-4 listing with a promising frame that will allow him to add muscle in college. A vertical threat on the outside that can adjust his body to make acrobatic grabs. Great at picking up yards after the catch given verified 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash. Can throw a block out on the edge when asked to be a decoy. Not the craftiest route runner. Needs to get more explosive coming out of his stance if he’s going to get open on a consistent basis at the next level. Will likely work his way into the rotation at a Power 5 school after a year or two on campus before developing into a starter. Has the potential to make an NFL roster at some point down the line.
McClain certainly has a lot of untapped potential. Even though he wasn't a star at Florida State, a lot of things about his background and physical skills suggest he could be a good No. 2 receiver and possibly even a No. 1 if he puts everything together.
As things currently stand, you'd think Penn State's wide receiver priority level heading into next season would be Cephas as the 1, then McClain and KeAndre Lambert-Smith competing for the 2, perhaps along with Harrison Wallace III. We'll see if any of the other young receivers can make a big leap forward to get into that mix.
And of course, we still don't know yet who the position coach will be, since Penn State has yet to announce Stubblefield's replacement. It's actually pretty surprising it's taken this long to do so, but we still could find out in the next day or two who will be coming on board.
DOTTIN ENTERS PORTAL
When you bring in two receivers from the portal, it's pretty much inevitable that you'd end up losing somebody currently on the team.
That is the case with Dottin, a former 4-star recruit himself who entered the transfer portal Wednesday. He was the No. 48 wide receiver in the country in the class of 2020 but was not able to make a big impact in three seasons at Penn State.
Thank You Penn State and everyone involved with me for everything! I am forever grateful! I am now officially in the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility. DM me for film.
— Jaden Dottin (@jadendottin) January 18, 2023
Dottin played in one game (the season finale) in 2020, played in three games and redshirted in 2021, then appeared in just one game and made the only two catches of his Penn State career this season. He started in week 2 against Ohio and caught two passes for 14 yards, then didn't get on the field again the rest of the season. He missed some time with an undisclosed injury, but it's unclear if he was fully healthy as the season went on.
Given his status coming out of high school -- he had offers from the likes of Pitt, Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers and Syracuse -- Dottin should draw a lot of interest in the transfer portal. He has three years of eligibility.
TRANSFER PORTAL NOTE
Wednesday marked the close of the current 45-day transfer portal window, so things will now quiet down on that front for a while.
The next transfer window is May 1-15.