| Robbie Gould |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 9, 2007 ?C Penn State is one of only three schools to place two former players on the 2006 Associated Press National Football League All-Pro Team.
Placekicker Robbie Gould (Chicago) and tailback Larry Johnson (Kansas City) were named to the AP squad. Penn State, Miami (Fla.) and Oklahoma State were the only schools with more than one AP All-Pro selection.
Gould and Johnson previously were selected for the Pro Bowl, which will be played February 10, 2007 in Honolulu. Johnson will be making his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance and Gould will be making his first in his second NFL season.
Gould and Johnson are among 29 former Nittany Lions on NFL rosters, which places Penn State 10th nationally among schools in producing current NFL players. Twelve former Lions were on NFL playoff teams, with at least one Penn Stater on seven of the 12 squads that began play last weekend vying for the Super Bowl XLI title, including Gould and Johnson.
The 2002 Maxwell and Doak Walker Award winner, Johnson was second in the NFL in rushing with 1,789 yards (111.8 avg.), trailing league MVP LaDanian Tomlinson by just 26 yards. A former State College Area High School standout, Johnson??s 417 rushing attempts broke the NFL record (410 by Atlanta??s Jamal Anderson in 1998) and his 17 rushing touchdowns were second-highest.
Over the past two seasons, Johnson leads the NFL in rushing yards (3,539) and attempts (752), averaging 110.6 yards per game, and his 37 rushing touchdowns are second only to Tomlinson.
Gould, former PSU tight end John Gilmore and the Chicago Bears will begin their Super Bowl quest on Sunday when they meet the Seattle Seahawks and former Lion standouts Bobby Engram and Rich Gardner. In his second year with the Bears, Gould was second in the NFL in scoring with 143 points, having made 32 of 36 field goal attempts and all 47 of his PAT attempts this season.
The former Central Mountain High School product is 12 of 14 on field goal attempts from 40-49 yards, connecting on a career-long 49-yarder in a 19-16 win at Minnesota, a game where he made four goals.
Former Nittany Lion defensive backs Bhawoh Jue (San Diego) and Bryan Scott (New Orleans) also begin play in the NFL playoffs this weekend.
More than 300 Nittany Lions have signed NFL contracts since Joe Paterno became head coach in 1966. A total of 227 Penn State players have been NFL draft selections during the Paterno era, including 30 first round choices. Last spring, defensive end Tamba Hali was a first round choice by the Chiefs, as seven Penn Staters were drafted. In 2003, four Nittany Lions were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Penn State has had at least one alumnus on a Super Bowl team in 36 of 40 title games. All-Pro center Jeff Hartings earned a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, while wide receivers Engram and Joe Jurevicius helped the Seattle Seahawks win the NFC Championship, squaring off with the Steelers in Super Bowl XL.