Every Penn State football player ever drafted in the first round of the NFL draft in school history.
In the history of the NFL draft, only a handful of schools have had more players drafted by NFL franchises than Penn State. The Nittany Lions have sent over 360 players through the NFL draft over the years, and that number continues to climb every year. And when it comes to first-round picks, Penn State has had a solid number of those as well, including some top draft picks.
Lenny Moore, arguably the best player in Penn State football history, is appropriately the first player in program history to be selected by an NFL franchise in the NFL draft. Since then, Penn State players have been selected in the first round numerous times through the decades with players like Shane Conlan, Blair Thomas, Ki-Jana Carter, LaVar Arrington, Saquon Barkley, and Micah Parsons.
Here is a look at every first-round NFL draft pick in Penn State history, starting with the first.
Here are Penn State’s all-time rushing touchdown leaders heading into 2022. How long until Nick Singleton makes this list?
Penn State has a long list of successful running backs to its credit in both college and the NFL. So many names that college fans know and love are in the Penn State record books.
To round out our recap of the Penn State rushing records we look at the guys who always wanted to end a drive with six points. The guys who could be the work horse type back and finish things off in the endzone, the top rushing touchdown leaders of all-time.
There will be a lot of familiar names like [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] who lead the list but also players like [autotag]Franco Harris[/autotag], [autotag]Curt Warner[/autotag], and potential hall of famer [autotag]Ki-Jana Carter[/autotag]. All of these players left lasting impacts and will be remembered for the foreseeable future at Penn State for their accomplishments.
For now, lets see who made it to the end zone the most with the blue and white on them.
Who is Penn State’s all-time leading rusher? It may not be who first think of.
Penn State has had a large amount of notable running backs step foot on Beaver Stadium’s grass, including several college hall of fame players. Of those notable men, none of them are actually the all-time leading rusher in the program’s history.
Names like [autotag]Larry Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag], and [autotag]Curt Warner[/autotag] are names you expect to see but none of them lead the list. Leading the list is a running back who was more than reliable during his tenure. Speaking of reliability, Penn State has strayed away from the run game but recent recruiting points to that aspect of the game making a grand return.
For the time being, while [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] decides what he wants to do with the offense, we can just hope that [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] joins this list one day. Until then, take some time to jump in the way-back machine in Penn State history.
Here are the top single-game rushing performances in Penn State history.
Penn State has always prides itself on two things; defense and running the football. The running game has been lacking as of late but with new high-ranking recruit [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] on campus there is much-needed renewed optimism.
No one is expecting record-breaking performances from Singleton anytime soon but the potential he has is limitless. Over the years there have been several names that are recognizable across the landscape of the sport who have played for Penn State. On top of that, there are Pro Football Hall of Famers who have Penn State as their alma mater.
For now, Nick Singleton will be looking to excel on a week-by-week basis but let’s say he has a big week. How big a week does he need to have in order to make this list of all-time single-game rushing records? See for yourself.
Jaquan Brisker is the latest Penn State player to be drafted by the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are one of the oldest franchises in the history of the National Football League, which means they have accumulated a ton of draft picks over the years. Yet, the Bears have only drafted a relatively small handful of players from Penn State.
The most recent draft pick from the Nittany Lions by the Bears is safety [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag], who was selected with a second-round draft pick by the Bears in the 2022 NFL draft. It was the first time in seven years the Bears selected a player from Penn State’s roster. While the Bears may not have drafted a ton of players out of Happy Valley, they certainly have drafted some recognizable names from Penn State’s history.
Here is a quick look at every draft pick from Penn State to be selected by the Chicago Bears.
From LaVar Arrington and Kerry Collins to Saquon Barkley and Micah Parsons, Penn State has had some big names drafted in the first round by NFL teams over the years.
After seeing two players be selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, with [autotag]Micah Parsons[/autotag] and [autotag]Odafe Oweh[/autotag], Penn State is hoping to see at least one more player go in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. And there is a good chance a Nittany Lion will be selected in the first round with wide receiver [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag] and defensive end [autotag]Arnold Ebiketie[/autotag] each being viewed as potential first-round selections.
Penn State has a history of developing NFL talent at all positions, but the school may not have quite as many first-round draft picks as you might have originally thought. Since joining the Big Ten in 1993, Penn State has had 19 players drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. Three players highlighted the top 10 of the 1995 draft following Penn State’s undefeated 1994 season. In 2003, Penn State players were selected with four first-round picks by NFL teams.
A Penn State player has been selected with the top overall pick twice in the Big Ten era of the program. Running back [autotag]Ki-Jana Carter[/autotag] was the first pick of the 1995 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, who traded up to make the move. In 2003, Penn State’s massive defensive lineman [autotag]Courtney Brown[/autotag] was the first pick of the draft by the Cleveland Browns. His teammate, linebacker [autotag]LaVar Arrington[/autotag], followed as the No. 2 pick of Washington.
Here is a look at each first-round draft pick out of Penn State since the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten.
A look back at Penn State’s first appearance in the Outback Bowl, a muddy blowout of Auburn
Penn State’s first trip to the Outback Bowl was a fun one for the Nittany Lions. Penn State blew away Auburn in what was supposed to be a fairly even matchup between the Nittany Lions and Tigers. A season after going undefeated and winning the Rose Bowl, Penn State’s 43-14 victory over Auburn helped set the tone for what would turn out to be another promising 1996 season the following fall.
Penn State handled Auburn in less than ideal weather conditions on January 1, 1996. A combination of heavy rain and mud on the field made for a sloppy game, and Penn State capitalized on Auburn’s inability to adapt to the weather conditions with their explosive offense and steady defense. After the game, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno suggested his team just had more character to adapt to the playing conditions.
“You can’t let the weather bother you,” Paterno said after the win. “If you try to fight it, it’ll even be worse. It takes character to do that, and I think our kids showed a lot of character out there today.”
The 1996 Outback Bowl was the 17th bowl victory for Paterno. He had set the record for most bowl victories the previous season with Penn State’s Rose Bowl victory over Auburn, and he would go on to add seven more for 24 career bowl victories, the most in college football history. Alabama head coach Nick Saban enters the 2021-22 bowl season with 17 career bowl victories, for the sake of comparison.
Penn State wide receiver Bobby Engram took MVP honors in his final game with the Nittany Lions. Engram had 113 receiving yards with a pair of touchdowns. even he was surprised how much Penn State dominated the Tigers.
“On a day like today, a game like this is won in the trenches, and we did it on both sides of the ball,” Engram said after the game. “I couldn’t believe just how dominant we were.”
Penn State and Auburn played a tight first quarter with Penn State kicker Brett Conway scoring the only points of the first quarter with a short field goal. Auburn took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Nix (father of Bo Nix) to Robert Baker. Conway added two more field goals to take a 9-7 lead as Auburn’s defense hung tough for a while, but a late touchdown pass from Wally Richardson to Mike Archie just before halftime gave Penn State a 16-7 lead at the break.
And then Penn State ripped Auburn apart in the third quarter. Richardson completed a touchdown pass to Engram early in the third quarter. A few minutes later, Richardson completed his third touchdown pass of the game, this time to Stephen Pitts, from four yards out for a dominant 29-7 lead.
“That was the turning point,” former Auburn head coach Terry Bowden said of the late touchdown just before halftime. “And when Penn State took their first series in the second half in for a score, we were in a catchup situation that we couldn’t handle.”
Curtis Enis added a touchdown run from the one-yard line for a 36-7 lead as Penn State blasted Auburn 27-0 in the third quarter alone. Just one minute later, Richardson completed his second touchdown strike to Engram from 20-yards. Penn State completed a 40-0 run before Auburn managed to put any more points on the board in the fourth quarter.
The Penn State defense picked off two passes by Auburn’s Nix, who completed just five of 25 pass attempts before being pulled for the blowout. the defense also forced five fumbles and recovered two.
Larry Johsnon owns the top four single-game rushing records in Penn State history. Who else is in the top 10?
When it comes to single-game rushing production, nobody set the bar as high at Penn State as Larry Johnson. Johnson, the school’s only 2,000-yard rusher in program history, torched overmatched opponents on his hot streak in 2002. As a result, Johnson owns the top four all-time single-game rushing totals in Penn State history.
For a school with as many talented running backs as Penn State has had over the years, Johnson’s 2002 season stands out, and his big-game performances will be difficult for any future running back at Penn State to catch due to the nature of the offense in today’s game. Penn State has evolved with the flow of the game to rely more on big plays through the air as opposed to grinding out yards on the ground. This is evident by contrasting this list of the top 10 single-game rushing performances with the list of top 10 single-game passing records.
Since Johnson’s 2,000-yard season in 2002, there have been just six games with a Penn State running back going for at least 200 yards on the ground. Saquon Barkley’s magical 211-yard performance against Iowa in 2017 remains the high mark on the ground for Penn State running backs since Johnson’s 2002 season.
Here is a look at those top 10 individual rushing performances in Penn State history, with Johnson taking the top four spots all to himself. As a bonus, we’ll actually make this a top 11 because Larry Johnson tied one of his high marks, so we’ll give both one spot and slide in one more at the beginning of this list.
Curt Warner, Franco Harris, Saquon Barkley top a star-studded list of Penn State rushing TD leaders
Penn State has had more than its share of great players, Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, Saquon Barkley to name a trio of running backs. What Nittany Lions have found the end zone the most on the ground during their college careers?
Where does Saquon Barkley rank among Penn State’s all-time leading rushers, including Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, and Ki-Jana Carter?
Maybe Penn State doesn’t have as strong a case to be made for Running Back U as some other programs, but the Nittany Lions have had their fair share of some of the best running backs in the game. From Lydell Mitchell to Franco Harris to Ki-Jana Carter and to Saquon Barkley, Penn State running backs have provided plenty of memories to fans over the years.
But who tops the list when it comes to Penn State’s all-time leading rushers list? Perhaps one of the more unassuming names to come through Happy Valley, Evan Royster. Royster may not have had the talent and skills of some of the others to suit up for the Nittany Lions over time, but his hard work and reliable performance stood the test of time. And having the opportunity to break into the offense early on and play his full four years of eligibility helped him continue to climb the ranks of Penn State’s all-time leading rushers.
With three 1,000-yard seasons, it has proven to be difficult to catch Royster, but his mark may not be untouchable. Saquon Barkley came close to catching Royster and would have easily surpassed him had Barkley remained at Penn State for one more season of eligibility instead of heading to the NFL. But as things stand now, Royster should feel pretty comfortable atop the leaderboard for a little while longer before anyone makes a run at his school record.
Here is a look at Penn State’s top 20 all-time leading rushers.
