Along with the return of the real Zack Mills came the return of the Penn State football team's real receiving corps.

Though wide receivers Bryant Johnson and Tony Johnson didn't have their most productive days, they were major threats again on Saturday against Virginia, something they hadn't been in recent weeks. Each had three receptions. Bryant Johnson finished with 66 yards and Tony Johnson had 34.

It didn't look like it was going to be that way early. Tony Johnson dropped two balls, and Bryant Johnson dropped one, bringing back memories of their butter-fingered 2000 campaigns.

However, the Nittany Lions' wideouts said they have come too far to let setbacks like that get to them.

"It's not tough to forget about those because we've had a lot of success," Bryant Johnson said. "I think we've had more success than struggles. We have confidence that when stuff like that happens, we can bounce back from it."

They also knew they had the confidence of the guy throwing them the ball.

"I just let them know I'm there," Mills said. "Obviously, the coaches are going to get on them enough. I don't feel like I need to be the one to get in their faces. I just let them know that I'm going to stick by them. There'll be times when they'll have to bail me out."

The Johnsons didn't really have to bail Mills out, but they did make plays for him. They were getting open on the deep crossing patterns that were their bread and butter early in the season, but haven't been producing much lately.

After managing just two receptions and 13 yards combined against Northwestern and Ohio State, Bryant Johnson started to get back into the offense last week with two receptions for 39 yards. This week, he was finding the same holes in Virginia's zones that he was finding early in the season, breaking long gains on those crossing routes.

Sophomore Gerald Smith, the Lions' third receiver, wasn't quite as productive as he had been in recent weeks. Since making his first reception of the season against Wisconsin, Smith had a reception in every game but the Northwestern game until Saturday.

Smith, a Muslim, was feeling the effects of his first game during the fasting month of Ramadan. During that time, Muslims are not allowed to eat from sunrise to sunset. He kept fluids in his body and drank protein shakes on the sidelines once night had fallen.

"I felt a little bit weak, but this game was important to me so I fought through it," Smith said. "I definitely think I'll do much better in the next game. The start of Ramadan fell on a Wednesday, so I didn't have the whole week to get prepared. Now I know the feeling of fasting before a game and I will adjust to it."

Even without production from Smith, the Lions registered their highest passing yardage total since the Michigan game. While that is encouraging for the Lions' passing game, it likely still won't be producing the same type of numbers it was early in the season in the remaining weeks because of the way Larry Johnson has been running the ball. The Lions wideouts aren't complaining.

"It feels good to be more involved, but we're not worried about that," Bryant Johnson said. "You have to take what the defense gives you, and if that means we have to run the ball more, that's what we have to do."