Pro Football Focus has been counting down its list of the top 50 players in college football this week, and a trio of Penn State’s top players in 2023 have cracked the top 20. Unless any other players appear in the top 10 in the final update to the list, that may be it for the Nittany Lions. Still, it is a good showing for the roster going into the upcoming season.
Cornerback Kalen King is the highest-ranked player on Penn State’s roster on PFF’s College 50. King missed out on the top 10 by one spot with his no. 11 ranking from PFF.
“In a recent interview with PFF, Kalen King said he gets offended when a quarterback throws his way,” The PFF article states. “If the signal-callers Penn State faces this season are smart, King shouldn’t get offended too often this season.”
Three spots behind King is Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, who is widely considered to be a potential early first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft after passing on a possible first-round draft selection in 2023.
“His 84.7 pass-blocking grade in 2022 ranked seventh among Power Five tackles and he didn’t allow a sack on 281 pass-blocking snaps,” PFF noted.
Joining King and Fashanu in the top 20 is defensive end Chop Robinson, who is coming off a stellar first season with the program after his transfer from Maryland.
“Robinson was quietly a superstar in 2022, leading all Power Five edge defenders with a 90.6 grade and a 92.4 pass-rushing grade. His 22.1% pass-rush win rate in 2022 trailed only Bralen Trice and Jared Verse in the Power Five, the only two edge defenders above him on this list,” PFF explained. “Most impressively, Robinson accomplished that as just a true sophomore, meaning his best work could still be yet to come.”
We’ll see if any Penn State players manage to crack PFF’s top 10, but this may be it for the Nittany Lions. Running back Nick Singleton has not been ranked yet, although it may be difficult to get him into the top 10 at this point.
Maybe next year!
2023 PFF College 50: Players 20-11⭐️ pic.twitter.com/73Is5KRB7x
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 3, 2023
You can see the full PFF College 50 to see what other players have made the list.
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