How Penn State football can replace John Dunmore after WR leaves PSU
John Dunmore has transferred out of Penn State, leaving a void in the Nittany Lions’ receiving corps
Penn State will be down a wide receiver for the 2020 season.
First reported by Sean Fitz of Lions247, redshirt freshman WR John Dunmore is no longer at Penn State. He had not been with the team during camp leading up to the late October season.
The former 4-star recruit was expected to be a second teamer for the Nittany Lions this Fall. The team will go forward with Jahan Dotson, Daniel George, Cam Sullivan-Brown, T.J. Jones and two freshmen in KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Parker Washington as their top six for the season.
Concerns about depth can arise from this situation, considering Lambert-Smith and Washington are true freshmen and Jones played in one game last year. There isn’t a ton of experience outside of Dotson, who was the team’s third leading receiver last season.
There’s been a lot of praise for Penn State’s young receivers coming out of camp, especially Lambert-Smith, who some believe could fight for a starting spot. Penn State will be going with a quality over quantity approach with their receiver unit this season.
New offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s system is built for wide receivers, although he may adapt considering the talent Penn State has at both running back and tight end.
We may see a lot of two receiver sets as Ciarrocca tries to get two tight ends on the field and we will see plenty of two running backs looks considering the diversity that group has skill wise.
In that case, only having six wideouts at your disposal won’t hurt that much thanks to the talented depth the team has at the other skill positions. This also opens the door for Ciarrocca to get back-up quarterback Will Levis involved, like we saw when former offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead introduce the “Lion” position for Tommy Stevens.
It’s never easy to lose a former blue-chip recruit, especially at a position that you’re lacking experience at, but Penn State has the coaching, talent and depth at other positions to overcome it.