Penn State’s players, coaches and fans finally got to celebrate again.

The football team’s first victory in 35 days would have been reason enough, but everyone was celebrating Jahan Dotson in particular. Nittany Nation might as well appreciate the affable wide receiver while it still can. The 5-11, 184-pound senior already could be burning NFL defensive backs, but he instead he was toasting Terrapins during Saturday’s 31-14 road victory over Maryland.

Where would the Nittany Lions (6-3, 3-3) be this season without their best offensive player? They’d have at least 1 more loss, because there’s no way they beat Maryland without Dotson’s school-record 242 receiving yards and 3 TDs.

“He’s just like … sneaky,” PSU cornerback and fellow senior Tariq Castro-Fields said afterward. “You wouldn’t think he’s that fast, but he is that fast. You wouldn’t think he’s that strong, but he is that strong. He’s all-around, I think, the best receiver in the country.”

A lot of people agree, including plenty of NFL analysts and scouts. Both ESPN’s Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. have him going in the top half of the first round next spring, and that’s before Dotson made more evidence of his skills available to the digital video vault.

Even just the 3 TDs against an overly aggressive Maryland defense show a wide variety of great receiver traits, and his other 8 catches added more.

On the first scoring play, a 38-yarder, Dotson smoked Maryland’s Nick Cross so bad with a double-move that he had time to wait for a duck of a pass from Sean Clifford to arrive and still tumble into the end zone.

“The safety bit hard on it, and Sean just put it up in the air and I was able to come down with it for a touchdown,” Dotson said.

The second score, a 21-yarder, came on a slant route, with the sure-handed Dotson creating separation and then leaping to snare the pass. “Sean put it where only I could get it.”

The third Dotson TD really showed what makes the 21-year-old out of  Nazareth, Pa., so special. After easing off the line and reading the coverage, Dotson smoothly accelerated up a vertical seam, caught Clifford’s throw in stride, and blazed down the middle of the field. Defenders appeared to move in slow motion as they tried to converge on him but arrived multiple steps too late. Dotson was gone, traversing 86 yards for a go-ahead score against pesky Maryland. It was his 6th career TD grab of at least 60 yards.

“We had a great game plan, a lot of man-beaters,” Dotson said. “That’s what we knew they were going to play.”

Even when he wasn’t going the distance, Dotson was changing the game. His 45-yard gain on a crossing route set up a chip-shot field goal that finally gave Penn State breathing room against the Terps, 24-14, with 6:33 remaining in the game. Several times on shorter plays, he shrugged off or powered through tacklers for extra yards, with 4 of the 8 non-TD catches going for first downs.

“They were playing really aggressive cover-zero, man coverage,” head coach James Franklin said. “Obviously, if you get the ball into his hands that many times, he’s going to make some big plays. … No one is surprised by Jahan.”

Dotson entered the game No. 2 in the B1G in receiving yards per game, behind only Purdue’s David Bell, who also had a big-time performance Saturday (11-217, 1 TD) in the Boilermakers’ 40-29 upset of No. 3 Michigan State. With 71 receptions on the season, Dotson leads the league, with a 28-catch cushion on everyone other than Bell. Now with 9 receiving TDs, Dotson ranks second in the B1G, 1 behind  Ohio State’s Chris Olave.

Dotson, having improved each season since first taking the field in 2018, continues to climb Penn State’s all-time lists.

At 2,507 career yards, he’s No. 4 after jumping 3 spots on Saturday. He trails Bobby Engram (3,026), DaeSean Hamilton (2,842) and Deon Butler (2,771). He’s tied for 3rd in receiving TDs with 22, trailing Engram by 9 and Kenny Jackson by 3.

At 932 yards this season, Dotson is poised to become Penn State’s 6th 1,000-yard receiver and first since Chris Godwin in 2015. If he maintains this pace and doesn’t miss time, Dotson would finish with the second-best receiving year in PSU history, behind only Allen Robinson’s 1,432-yard campaign in 2013. He’d also wind up 2nd on the career lists for yards and receptions. Imagine if he hadn’t lost 3-4 games because of 2020’s pandemic-shortened season. His next 100-yard game will be his 11th, a mark no one has reached at Penn State. He currently shares that record with Robinson.

And, as already noted, he’s got the school’s best single-game output, with Saturday’s 242-yard effort eclipsing Butler’s 216 yards against Northwestern in 2006.

“Honestly, none of that really matters,” Dotson said. “I was just happy to get back on the win streak today. Every time I step on the field, I’m just having fun. I’m with such a great group of guys. … That’s what makes me happy. That’s what makes it so fun being out here … just being around those guys.”

Having helped Penn State reach bowl eligibility, he’ll get to play with this group of guys up to 4 more times. He could even come back for another year if he wants, but don’t be greedy, Lions fans. Just enjoy Jahan Dotson in a Penn State uniform while you can.