Penn State dominated Maryland from start to finish during Friday night’s game. There were several big plays that electrified the Nittany Lion fans in attendance and, well, silenced the few Maryland fans who remained.

Two of the biggest plays of the night came from KJ Hamler and Journey Brown. Hamler took a slant route 58 yards to the end zone early in the first quarter, while Brown stretched out Penn State’s lead before halftime on a screen pass that resulted in a 37-yard score.

KJ Hamler's hesi on his touchdown was straight disrespectful pic.twitter.com/IOvRkOWcMw

— Onward State (@OnwardState) September 28, 2019

It's the Smash, baby!! #FNL pic.twitter.com/jcVvBcuNcI

— Onward State (@OnwardState) September 28, 2019

While both players, especially Hamler, made electrifying moves on their way to the end zone, neither plays would have been possible without some downfield blocking from other receivers.

Once Hamler got it to open field and made his disrespectful move on the Maryland defensive back, Jahan Dotson was there to stave off any other Terp defenders from making a tackle on No. 1. On Brown’s touchdown, Daniel George made a massive block that allowed the running back to sprint down the sideline untouched for six.

The value of setting blocks far down the field is clearly emphasized early and often to Nittany Lion receivers, as Dotson is just a sophomore and George a redshirt freshman. Nonetheless, downfield blocking has been a huge part of Penn State’s ability to create big plays through the first four games of the season.

Dotson, who already has two touchdowns and 143 receiving yards on the year, was a huge part of Penn State’s flurry of scoring during the third quarter against Buffalo in week two. Aside from scoring twice against the Bulls, the young receiver made a huge play downfield on one of Pat Freiermuth’s touchdowns.

After Freiermuth made a great catch on a screen pass, both Dotson and Hamler cleared the way for the tight end to rumble and stumble his way into the end zone. Both receivers made great blocks on the play that left Freiermuth nearly untouched by the Buffalo secondary.

“We take tremendous pride in [our blocking] and Coach Parker implements that in us every day,” Dotson said. “It’s pretty cool to help escort a brother into the end zone and see him celebrate.”

The young wide receiver continued to explain that he could feel the corner coming at him so he knew the play was behind him, and so he found a way to put a block on him.

While Hamler and Dotson are far from the biggest of football players, they’ve both made a clear difference on offense even without the ball in their hands. Even though he had a massive day against the Terps, Hamler said he wants to continue to get better at picking up blocking assignments to make this offense even more explosive.

The receivers’ ability to make downfield blocks makes Sean Clifford’s job a whole lot easier, as he has the option to check down to screens and short passes that he knows can go for positive yards.

The redshirt sophomore is averaging 16.84 yards per completion, the fifth-most in the nation, but he really didn’t take too many deep shots against Maryland. Why throw the ball deep when you know solid blocks and athleticism in receivers will allow for underneath throws to go for massive gains?