Football at Penn State has a long, illustrious history. The Nittany Lions have been a national powerhouse in football for decades. Consequently, there is a long list of notable Penn State football players who have worn the blue and white over the years.
This week, four of our staffers met to draft their own, all-time Penn State football fantasy football roster. Each staffer drafted a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive lineman, defensive lineman or linebacker, secondary player, and special teams player. However, there were no rules as to when each position was to be picked.
Let’s take a look at the rosters that our staffers came up with, starting with the entire draft board and followed by explanations from each staffer.
Team Aidan
I was lucky enough to be granted the first overall pick in the draft, so I decided to start off strong and take none other than Saquon Barkley. My second-round pick was Christian Hackenberg, and I wanted to make sure I had the quarterback I liked early rather than worrying about it later.
After these first two picks of offense, I realized why not just go all in on this side of the ball. My next four picks were Allen Robinson, Pat Freiermuth, and Olu Fashanu. This decision led me to have the best offense out of any team.
Penn State is LBU, so I knew that if I waited I would get a great linebacker late in the draft. This is why I chose Penn State fan favorites Marcus Allen and Joey Julius before taking legend Jack Ham with the final pick of the draft.
I am confident to say that my draft ideology played out perfectly, and I ended up with the best team.
Team Mikey
I felt pretty good when I received the second pick. I wanted to snag Barkley, but he was selected first overall, so I went with another Penn State legend: Franco Harris. With the second pick, I secured Kerry Collins, arguably the best quarterback in Penn State history.
In the third round, I wanted to secure a strong defensive player, so I selected Micah Parsons. Sure, he’s a recent pick, but there’s no denying how talented he is.
I added to my offensive core with Bobby Engram and Kyle Brady, two Nittany Lion legends, before selecting another all-time great in Jeff Hartings.
I closed my draft out with two more recent players who were extremely successful during their time at Penn State: Jordan Stout and Jaquan Brisker. For my special teams player, I tried to select “Saquon Barkley as a punt returner,” but was vetoed by my fellow drafters.
Team Michael
I was very happy when Mikey spun the wheel, and I saw I had the third pick for the second draft in a row. With my first pick, I went with two-time All-American linebacker Paul Posluszny, who had 372 career tackles.
Ki-Jana Carter rushed for almost 3,000 yards and 34 touchdowns in two seasons at Penn State. Talk about an explosive running back that I didn’t even have to use my first-round pick on. I kept it with skill players in the next round, taking Deon Butler, who has the third-most receiving yards in Penn State history.
Neal Smith has the most interceptions ever at Penn State, so I went with him in the fourth round. Then, Steve Wisniewski, who played a big part in the 1986 National Championship. Todd Blackledge was the last quarterback selected? Yes, please.
I needed a tight end, and I wasn’t ecstatic about Jesse James, but he certainly gets the job done. My last pick was the Nittany Lions’ current placekicker Gabe Nwosu. He is 6’6” and 274 pounds. He can send kickoffs to the end zone while also serving as an incredible sub-linebacker option.
Team Matt
I was given the last draft pick in the order and, fortunately, I grabbed the player I would’ve taken if I got pick No. 1 one. Arguably the greatest and the most physical player in the history of Penn State: linebacker LaVar Arrington. On the wrap-in round two, I picked up statistically the best tight end in school history, Mike Gesicki.
After my first two picks, a few wide receivers and quarterbacks went off the board, so I decided to grab mine. I first selected the teammate of Gesicki, wide receiver Chris Godwin. With the wrap-around pick, I said, “Let’s recreate the 2016 Big Ten Championship team and grab the Penn State quarterback with his own theme song, Trace McSorley.” At pick five, I needed a defensive back and grabbed one of the best safeties in Adrian Amos. At pick six, I picked a big man to block, and I went with A.Q. Shipley.
To finish off my team, I needed a special team player and a running back. Since Barkley, Carter, and Harris were already off the board, I went with a back that had one of the most historic seasons as a Nittany Lion, Larry Johnson. Johnson holds the record for most rushing yards in a single game and for a whole season in Penn State history. In my last selection, I needed special teams and went with the kicker who has made the most field goals in school history: Kevin Kelly.
2023-10-26 08:15:06
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