Jahan Dotson listens to Ron Rivera’s advice, attends Penn State graduation

The Washington Commanders are hoping the arrival of Jahan Dotson, their first-round draft choice, will breath new life into their receiving corps.

At the very least, they’re hoping the No. 16 overall pick will help take attention away from Terry McLaurin, who who broke 1,000 receiving yards and caught five touchdowns despite being invisible for multiple games last season.

For now, though, Dotson is still adjusting to being an NFL player. This time two weeks ago, the Penn State product was preparing for the draft. This time last week he was enjoying the festivities of the draft. Now, he’s participating in rookie minicamp with Washington’s fellow draftees and undrafted free agent signings.

To say it’s been a busy month for Dotson would be an understatement.

How committed is Dotson to making a strong impression on Washington’s coaching staff and his new teammates? So much so that he was prepared to skip Penn State’s graduation ceremony to continue partaking in rookie camp.

That was until Ron Rivera convinced him otherwise.

https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1522734773566947328

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera convinced rookie Jahan Dotson to attend Penn State’s graduation ceremony.

"“Many people in my family haven’t achieved this goal, so it’s pretty big for me and my family to be able to achieve this goal of graduating college,” Dotson told reporters. “So, it’s gonna be a really cool moment and an end to a great week.”“Oh, I was actually ready to skip to graduation and be out here at practice. But he (Rivera) said that that’s like a once in a million type of thing. He was all for me going. I honestly hadn’t even thought about skipping practice until he kind of brought that up.”"

This is awesome on multiple fronts. For starters, no one can ever question Dotson’s commitment to improving his craft. For an incoming draft pick to prioritize rookie minicamp over graduating, an elusive milestone in his family, just goes to show the former Nittany Lion is mature beyond his years.

We all know Rivera and Co. regard character and talent on a similar playing field when evaluating draft prospects, and Dotson’s unrivaled dedication to the game and his teammates proves that he’s destined to have success as a pro.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1523050467034828800

You love to see it!

As for Rivera, what more is there to say? Already one of the most respected coaches/executives in the league, it shouldn’t come as a surprise he urged Dotson to get his degree instead of sticking around for the last day of minicamp.

What a story. Widely considered a reach on draft night, Dotson is doing everything possible to prove he was worthy of the No. 16 overall pick. Wonder how many Commanders fans are going to buy his jersey after this.