Aug. 6, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A total of 34 Penn State football alumni are populating the training camp rosters of 22 National Football League teams. The Nittany Lions annually are among the top 20 programs nationally in producing players in the NFL.
In addition, 10 former Nittany Lions are members of NFL coaching staffs, three of whom coach the running backs.
The Jacksonville Jaguars boast a league-high five former Nittany Lions, including eight-year veteran and 2013 Pro Bowl linebacker Paul Posluszny, and 2014 second-round pick Allen Robinson. Two more "LinebackerU." standouts, Josh Hull and Nate Stupar, as well as offensive lineman Matt Stankiewitch, round out the Penn State contingent in Jacksonville.
The Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders feature three former Penn State standouts, while four squads (Baltimore, Minnesota, San Diego, Seattle) have two former Nittany Lion student-athletes on their rosters.
Six players from Penn State's 2013 squad are vying to make NFL squads as rookies: Glenn Carson (Arizona), Garry Gilliam (Seattle), Adam Gress (New York Giants), DaQuan Jones (Tennessee), Robinson (Jacksonville) and John Urschel (Baltimore).
| Andrew Quarless |
Penn State has had 36 NFL Draft picks since 2006, including 16 in the first three rounds, and at least three NFL Draft picks 16 times since starting Big Ten Conference competition in 1993. A total of 335 Nittany Lions have been selected all-time in the NFL Draft.Ten-year veteran and Chicago Bears All-Pro placekicker Robbie Gould is Penn State's elder statesman in the NFL. Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro linebacker Tamba Hali, who is entering his ninth professional season, is second in longevity, followed by Posluszny and sixth-year professionals Jordan Norwood (Denver) and Cameron Wake (Miami).
Super Bowl XLVIII marked the 43rd time in the NFL Championship contest's 48-game history that at least one Penn State alumnus was a member of one of the participating teams. Former Nittany Lion standouts Jordan Hill and Michael Robinson helped capped off a dominant playoff run for Seattle with a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos. In all, 37 former Nittany Lions have earned a total of 54 Super Bowl rings.
Ten former Nittany Lions are members of NFL coaching staffs: Gary Brown (Dallas, running backs); Bobby Engram (Baltimore, wide receivers); Sam Gash (Green Bay, running backs); Ron Heller (New York Jets, assistant offensive line); John McNulty (Tennessee, quarterbacks); Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Munchak (Pittsburgh, offensive line), Jeff Nixon (Miami, running backs); Paul Pasqualoni (Chicago, defensive line); Darren Perry (Green Bay, safeties) and Mike Wolf (Cleveland, assistant strength and conditioning).
In addition, former Penn State quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell is in his first season as head coach of the Detroit Lions.
| Robbie Gould |
Coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions are in the midst of their first week of training camp for the Aug. 30 season opener vs. UCF in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland.
More than 5,000 new Penn State football season tickets have been sold for the 2014 campaign. Alumni and fans are able to purchase Penn State football season tickets and make their Nittany Lion Club donation online at GoPSUsports.com/seasontickets, while choosing their own seats by utilizing Virtual Venue. New season tickets, the four-game partial ticket plan and single game also are available by calling 1-800-NITTANY, weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Former Penn State players on 2014 NFL training camp rosters (pro season in parentheses):
Arizona Cardinals: Glenn Carson (1)
Atlanta Falcons: Mickey Shuler (5)
Baltimore Ravens: A.Q. Shipley (5), John Urschel (1)
Carolina Panthers: Michael Zordich (1)
Cincinnati Bengals: Devon Still (3)
Chicago Bears: Robbie Gould (10)
Dallas Cowboys: Sean Lee (5)
Denver Broncos: Jordan Norwood (6)
Green Bay Packers: Andrew Quarless (5)
Houston Texans: Mike Farrell (1)
Jacksonville Jaguars: Josh Hull (5), Paul Posluszny (8), Allen Robinson (1), Matt Stankiewitch (1), Nate Stupar (3)
Kansas City Chiefs: Tamba Hali (9)
Miami Dolphins: Brett Brackett (2), Jared Odrick (5), Cameron Wake (6)
Minnesota Vikings: Gerald Hodges (2), Michael Mauti (2)
New York Giants: Adam Gress (1)
Oakland Raiders: Jack Crawford (3), Matt McGloin (2), Stefen Wisniewski (4)
Pittsburgh Steelers: Derek Moye (3)
San Diego Chargers: Rich Ohrnberger (6), Johnnie Troutman (3)
San Francisco 49ers: Navorro Bowman (5)
Seattle Seahawks: Garry Gilliam (1), Jordan Hill (2)
Tennessee Titans: DaQuan Jones (1)
Washington Redskins: Evan Royster (4)
-NITTANY LIONS-