Two Penn State draft hopefuls selected to Senior Bowl; more coming?
The Senior Bowl is making its selections official.
An annual showcase of the nation’s top college senior players, the game is set this year for Feb. 5 in Mobile, Ala. As of Tuesday, two former Penn State players are locked in to participate with more expected to come this week.
The first selection announced Friday, receiver Jahan Dotson has committed to the game along with defensive end Arnold Ebiketie. Both players will be coached by the New York Jets staff, who is in charge of the ‘National’ team. The Detroit Lions will be handling the ‘American’ side.
Jahan Dotson, Arnold Ebiketie named to ‘National’ team
Leading the way, receiver Jahan Dotson should come as no surprise.
The former Nittany Lion capped his Penn State career leaving no question over his place in the program’s history. With 91 catches for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns, his 2021 performance was among the lone highlights for the offense.
For the performance, he was named the team MVP and offensive MVP by the program. The honors built atop a bevy of awards recognitions following the season for Dotson. Among them, he was named first-team All-Big Ten, one season after taking third-team recognition for his breakout 2020 campaign.
Leaving the program third all-time for receiving touchdowns, fourth in yards, and fourth in total receptions, with 10 games of 100 yards-or-more receiving, Dotson holds a revered place at Penn State.
“I say it all the time. I’m super proud of not only Jahan Dotson on the football field, but the type of young man he is. How his parents raised him, the type of student he is,” head coach James Franklin said earlier this season. “He’s a perfect representation of what we want to be at Penn State. I’m not surprised at all. He’s got a very bright future, and I’m a big fan, as you could imagine.”
According to ESPN’s draft analyst Todd McShay, Dotson is projected as a late-first round selection in this year’s NFL Draft (April 28-30).
Dotson won’t be alone in Mobile. This week brought the announcement of Ebiketie’s participation as well.
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Stepping in at a position of need through the transfer portal from Temple, Ebiketie made the most of the opportunity. He finished with 9.5 sacks, 18.0 TFLs, and 62 total tackles for the year with the Nittany Lion defense.
The performance was exactly as Penn State had hoped.
“When he got here and we did the testing numbers right away, we were impressed. He is another guy that was a high school linebacker and was a linebacker when he first got to Temple. And that athleticism and that explosiveness that he has shown up right away in testing and workouts,” Franklin said. “He just continues to grow within the program. He’s gotten bigger and stronger and has been a tremendous addition. I’m super happy for him and his family and proud of him, and he’s been great.”
More Penn State Senior Bowl picks coming?
While Dotson and Ebiketie have been the only two former Penn State players announced to the game so far, more are likely in the works.
The game has not yet revealed its selections for a handful of outstanding position groups including special teams, linebacker, and defensive backs. Given the prior commitments made by players on various social media outlets previously this year, those will likely include as many as four more Nittany Lions.
Though the Senior Bowl site has removed its official roster until the rollout completes, both Tariq Castro-Fields and Jaquan Brisker were listed previously as commitments to participate in the game. Likewise, hybrid defensive end/linebacker Jesse Luketa and punter Jordan Stout also indicated that they were set to participate.
Blue White Illustrated will continue to update Penn State’s list of Senior Bowl participants as they come in.
