UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A total of 32 Penn State football alumni are populating the rosters of 20 National Football League teams as the 2019 season begins Thursday. A total of 27 Penn State players made 53-man rosters, while the Nittany Lions have three former players on practice squads and two Penn Staters currently on injured reserve with NFL teams. In addition, there is one Nittany Lion on an NFL roster who did not play football at Penn State in Chris Hogan (Carolina).
Additionally, center A.Q. Shipley (Arizona), outside linebacker Carl Nassib (Tampa Bay) and running back Saquon Barkley (New York Giants) were selected as team captains.
The Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans boast a league-high three Penn Staters each, including 11th-year defensive end Cameron Wake.
Four teams – Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco - each have two PSU alums. Fifteen-year vet and San Francisco All-Pro placekicker Robbie Gould is Penn State's elder statesman, while Pro Bowl linebacker Sean Lee returns for his 10th season with the Cowboys.
A total of seven players from Penn State's 2018 Top 25 squad on NFL rosters. Ryan Bates (Buffalo Bills), Trace McSorley (Baltimore Ravens), Shareef Miller (Philadelphia Eagles), Amani Oruwariye (Detroit Lions), Miles Sanders (Philadelphia Eagles) and Nick Scott (Los Angeles Rams) are on active rosters, while Kevin Givens (San Francisco 49ers) will start the season on the practice squad.
Former Penn State men's lacrosse player Chris Hogan also appeared in the most recent Super Bowl and has moved to the Carolina Panthers for his seventh season in the NFL.
Additionally, seven former Nittany Lions are members of NFL coaching staffs: Tom Bradley (Pittsburgh, defensive backs); Gary Brown (Dallas, running backs); Bobby Engram (Baltimore, tight ends); Al Golden (Detroit, linebackers); D'Anton Lynn (Houston, assistant secondary), Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Munchak (Denver, offensive line) and Paul Pasqualoni (Detroit, defensive coordinator).
The Nittany Lions' remaining home schedule includes Buffalo (Sept. 7; 7:30 p.m.) and the 100th all-time meeting with Pittsburgh (Sept. 14; noon) in non-conference action. In Big Ten play, Penn State welcomes Purdue (Oct. 5; noon), Michigan (Oct. 19), Indiana (Nov. 15) and Rutgers (Nov. 30) to Happy Valley.
Single-game tickets are available for the 2019 Penn State Football season presented by PSECU. Fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Former Penn State players on 2019 NFL opening day rosters (pro season in parentheses):
Arizona Cardinals (1): A.Q. Shipley (8)C
Atlanta Falcons (1): Jack Crawford (8)
Baltimore Ravens (1): Trace McSorley (R)
Buffalo Bills (1): Ryan Bates (R)
Carolina Panthers: Chris Hogan (7; former MLAX player)
Chicago Bears (1): Allen Robinson II (6)
Dallas Cowboys (2): Sean Lee (10), Connor McGovern (R)IR
Denver Broncos (1): DaeSean Hamilton (2)
Detroit Lions (3): Jason Cabinda (2), Jesse James (5), Amani Oruwariye (R)
Green Bay Packers (1): Adrian Amos (5)
Kansas City Chiefs (1): Jordan Lucas (4)
Los Angeles Chargers (1): Trevor Williams (4)
Los Angeles Rams (1): Nick Scott (R)
Miami Dolphins (2): Mike Gesicki (2), Mike Hull (4)IR
New York Giants (3): Saquon Barkley (2)C, Grant Haley (2), Nate Stupar (7)
Philadelphia Eagles (2): Shareef Miller (R), Miles Sanders (R)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1): Marcus Allen (2)
San Francisco 49ers (2): Kevin Givens (R), Robbie Gould (15)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3): Chris Godwin (3), Carl Nassib (4), Donovan Smith (5)
Tennessee Titans (3): Austin Johnson (4), DaQuan Jones (6), Cameron Wake (11)
Washington Redskins (1): Troy Apke (2)
Italics indicates practice squad
C - Captain
IR - Injured Reserve
