Penn State 3rd in Big Ten With 31 Players on NFL Camp Rosters

By

Mike Poorman

–

June 15, 2015

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The vast majority of the NFL’s teams begin their mandatory off-season mini-camps on Tuesday.

And a majority of all NFL squads – 20 of the 32 – have at least one Penn Stater taking part in those camps.

Overall, there are 31 former Nittany Lions on NFL rosters — this week, anyway.

The League is wrapping up a hectic eight-week roster-busy stretch that included the NFL Draft, OTAs (organized team activities), tryout camps, voluntary camps and a mandatory camp.

Penn State is tied with Wisconsin for third among the 14 Big Ten Conference schools. Ohio State ranks first, with 42 former players on NFL rosters. Iowa is a close second, with 40.

Rounding out the Big Ten, with former players on current NFL rosters, are: Michigan State (30), Nebraska (29), Michigan (26), Rutgers (22), Illinois (21), Maryland (21), Purdue (18), Northwestern (14), Indiana (12) and Minnesota (12). (Numbers are based on rosters currently posted on team websites.)

True, those numbers are bloated, as rosters are currently filled with rookies and free agents and other such fodder as NFL teams get ready for official summer practice next month. By Sept. 10, each team will have cut more than 35 of its current players. Still, an appearance on an NFL roster – even in the middle of June — signifies that a player has at least a shot of beginning, or extending, their professional careers.

For a few Penn Staters, that shot was fired and missed the past month. Four Nittany Lions who were invited to NFL tryouts left without a contract — kicker Sam Ficken (Kansas City), running back Bill Belton (New York Jets), running back Zach Zwinak (Houston) and Penn State basketball player Ross Travis (Houston). For the latter two, a connection to the Texans head coach, former PSU boss Bill O’Brien, ultimately didn’t pay dividends.

Former Nittany Lion quarterback Rob Bolden, who transferred to LSU and then Eastern Michigan, had an invite to Detroit’s tryout camp. But he too was not signed. Fortunately, at the least trip home from camp for the Michigan native wasn’t too long.

PENN STATERS ON CURRENT NFL ROSTERS

Let’s take a look at the former Nittany Lions who did make the cut – so far. Among the group are 2015 NFL draftees Donovan Smith, Jesse James and Adrian Amos, as well as undrafted free agents Deion Barnes, Miles Dieffenbach and Mike Hull.

Arizona Cardinals – A. Q. Shipley (C/G, 4th year), Glenn Carson (ILB, 2)

Atlanta Falcons – Mickey Shuler (TE, 4), Nate Stupar (LB, 3)

Baltimore Ravens – John Urschel (G/C, 2)

Chicago Bears – Robbie Gould (K, 11), Adrian Amos (FS, rookie)

Cincinnati Bengals – Devon Still (DT, 4)

Dallas Cowboys – Sean Lee (LB, 6), Jack Crawford (DE, 4)

Denver Broncos – Jordan Norwood (WR, 6)

Green Bay Packers – Andrew Quarless (TE, 6)

Jacksonville Jaguars – Paul Posluszny (LB, 9), Jared Odrick (DL, 6), Stefen Wisniewski (C, 5), Allen Robinson (WR, 2)

Kansas City Chiefs – Tamba Hali (LB, 10)

Miami Dolphins – Cameron Wake (DE, 7), Mike Hull (LB, rookie)

Minnesota Vikings – Gerald Hodges (LB, 3), Michael Mauti (LB, 3)

New York Jets – Deion Barnes (LB, rookie)

Oakland Raiders – Matt McGloin (QB, 3)

Pittsburgh Steelers – Miles Dieffenbach (G, rookie), Jesse James (TE, rookie)

San Diego Chargers – Johnnie Troutman (G, 3)

San Francisco 49ers – NaVorro Bowman (LB, 6)

Seattle Seahawks – Jordan Hill (DT, 3), Garry Gilliam (OT, 2)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Donovan Smith (OT, rookie)

Tennessee Titans – DaQuan Jones (DL, 2)

Teams with zero Penn Staters on their current roster – Buffalo, Carolina, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, New England, New Orleans, New York Giants, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Washington.

Jacksonville now has a league-high four ex-Nittany Lions, as Wisniewski (Oakland) and Odrick (Miami) both signed with the Jaguars in the offseason. The other two Penn Staters, Robinson and Posluznky, are both coming off 2014 season-ending injuries – as are several other former Nittany Lions. Most prominent is Bowman, the All-Pro linebacker who missed all of 2014 after tearing his MCL and ACL in the 2013 NFC championship game lost by the 49ers. Lee, Hill and Norwood are also coming back from serious injuries.

Almost one out of three Penn Staters in the NFL is a linebacker – and that includes Barnes, a defensive end at PSU who is now trying to make the Jets as a linebacker. The Nittany Lions are also well-represented along the offensive line (seven) and defensive line (six), while McGloin at quarterback, Gould in special teams and Amos in the secondary are the only Nittany Lions at their positions in the NFL.

Three former Penn Staters who transferred out of what apparently-was-not Happy Valley are on NFL rosters. Quarterback Pat Devlin, who transferred to Delaware after the 2008 season, is now in his fourth season in the NFL and with the Bears after a stint with the Dolphins. Silas Redd (Washington) and Justin Brown (Buffalo, by way of Pittsburgh), both of whom left in 2012 – Redd to USC, Brown to Oklahoma — after the NCAA hit Penn State with sanctions, are also in the league.

Vanderbilt, the previous institution of Penn State head coach James Franklin, is fairly well-represented. A total of 13 former Commodores are on current NFL rosters.

PENN STATE COACHING TIES

There are a number of coaches in the NFL with Penn State ties, including 10 former players. They are:

Bobby Engram (Baltimore, WR), D’Anton Lynn (Buffalo, defensive assistant), Gary Brown (Dallas, RB), Darren Perry (Green Bay, DB), Sam Gash (Green Bay, RB), Paul Pasqualoni (Houston DL), Jeff Nixon (Miami, RB), Ron Heller (N.Y. Jets, asst. OL), Mike Munchak (Pittsburgh, OL) and John McNulty (Tennessee, QB).

Several NFL assistants and two head coaches also spent part of their careers coaching at Penn State, including the top men at Detroit (Jim Caldwell) and Houston (Bill O’Brien). Others include Paul Alexander of Cincinnati, Teryl Austin and Joe Marciano of Detroit, Pat Flaherty of the New York Giants, and the O’Brien-led Houston contingent of Jim Bernhardt, John Butler, Craig Fitzgerald, Stan Hixon, Charles London and Anthony Midget.

BIG TEN BREAKDOWN

It certainly should be no surprise that the NFL is populated with more Buckeyes (42) than other Big Ten team. After all, Ohio State has won seven Big Ten titles, one national championship and 110 games over the past decade.

But Iowa – with just 77 victories over the same time frame — at No. 2, with 40 players?

It makes sense when you break down at which positions Hawkeyes are headed to NFL training camps. Size matters. Currently, NFL rosters include a bunch of former Iowa offensive linemen (10), defensive linemen (seven), tight ends (six) and linebackers (six).

Ohio State is still very popular, especially with Carolina and the Steelers; both NFL teams have five Buckeyes on their roster. O’Brien at Houston has a fondness for Michigan State players, with five. (And zero Nittany Lions.) Hawkeyes are best bought in bulk – more teams have at least two players from Iowa (12), than any other Big Ten school (Penn State, Nebraska and Ohio State are tied for second, with nine).

Overall, here’s the breakdown of Big Ten teams represented on current NFL rosters. The first number is a school’s former players on an NFL roster, the second number denotes how many of the 32 NFL teams have at least one alum from that school.

1. OHIO STATE – 42 players, 23 teams

2. IOWA – 40 players, 20 teams

3. WISCONSIN – 31 players, 22 teams

PENN STATE – 31 players, 20 teams

5. MICHIGAN STATE – 30 players, 16 teams

6. NEBRASKA – 29 players, 19 teams

7. MICHIGAN – 26 players, 19 teams

8. RUTGERS – 22 players, 11 teams

9. ILLINOIS – 21 players, 16 teams

MARYLAND – 21 players, 17 teams

11. PURDUE – 18 players, 14 teams

12. NORTHWESTERN – 14 players, 11 teams