UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A total of 44 Penn State football alumni are populating the rosters of 25 National Football League teams. The Nittany Lions annually are among the top 20 programs nationally in producing players in the NFL.
Saquon Barkley and Jahan Dotson paced former Penn Staters on offense, as Barkley was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, while Dotson was named Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. Including Dotson, five Nittany Lion rookies made their NFL debut.
Each week throughout the year, GoPSUSports.com provides updates on the exploits of these former Nittany Lion greats.
Marcus Allen (2014-17) LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers 23, Bengals 20
- Saw 14 snaps on special teams.
Adrian Amos (2011-14) S, Green Bay Packers
Vikings 23, Packers 7
- Started, made three tackles and defended a pass.
- Amos is one of three safeties in the NFL (Bills S Jordan Poyer and Broncos S Justin Simmons) with multiple interceptions and 70-plus tackles each of the last four seasons (2018-21).
- Ranks No. 2 among active NFL safeties in consecutive regular-season games started (68).
Troy Apke (2014-17) S, Washington Commanders
Commanders 28, Jaguars 22
- Apke is on Washington's practice squad.
Saquon Barkley (2015-17) RB, New York Giants
Giants 21, Titans 20
- Was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
- Ran for 164 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown.
- Averaged 9.1 yards per carry and had a long rush of 68 yards.
- Added six receptions for 30 yards, giving him 194 yards of total offense.
Ryan Bates (2016-18) OL, Buffalo Bills
Bills 31, Rams 10
- Started at right guard in the win over the Rams.
- The start was his first in a season opener.
Nick Bowers (2018-19) TE, Cincinnati Bengals
Steelers 23, Bengals 20
- Bowers is on Cincinnati's practice squad.
Jaquan Brisker (2019-21) S, Chicago Bears
Bears 19, 49ers 10
- Started at safety for the Bears.
- Made four tackles, a tackle for loss and recovered a fumble.
Cam Brown (2016-19) LB, New York Giants
Giants 21, Titans 20
- Recorded a special teams tackle.
Jason Cabinda (2014-17) FB, Detroit Lions
Eagles 38, Lions 35
- Cabinda is on the physically unable to perform list.
Tariq Castro-Fields (2017-21) CB, Washington Commanders
Commanders 28, Jaguars 22
- Castro-Fields was inactive.
Dan Chisena (2019) WR, Minnesota Vikings
Vikings 23, Packers 7
- Chisena is on Minnesota's practice squad.
Jahan Dotson (2018-21) WR, Washington Commanders
Commanders 28, Jaguars 22
- Named NFL Rookie of the Week.
- Had three receptions for 40 yards and two touchdowns.
- Caught the game-winning 24-yard touchdown pass with 1:46 to go in the fourth quarter.
- He is the first rookie receiver to record two-plus touchdowns in a Week One contest in franchise history.
Arnold Ebiketie (2021) DE, Atlanta Falcons
Saints 27, Falcons 26
- Recorded a sack against the Saints.
- With his sack of Saints QB Jameis Winston, Ebiketie became the first Falcon to record a sack in his NFL debut since Darrell Shropshire in 2005.
- Ebiketie was one of four NFL rookies to record at least one sack in Week 1.
Pat Freiermuth (2018-20) TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers 23, Bengals 20
- Started and made five receptions for 75 yards, including a long catch of 31.
- Had a key, 26-yard reception late in overtime to set up a game-winning field goal for Pittsburgh.
Will Fries (2017-20) OL, Indianapolis Colts
Colts 20, Texans 20 (Tie)
- Saw five snaps on special teams.
Mike Gesicki (2014-17) TE, Miami Dolphins
Vikings 23, Packers 7
- Recorded one reception and played 25 snaps on offense.
Blake Gillikin (2016-19) P, New Orleans Saints
Saints 27, Falcons 26
- Had five punts, averaging 54.4 yards (46.0 net), a long of 59 and one punt landing inside the 20.
Kevin Givens (2016-18) DT, San Francisco 49ers
Bears 19, 49ers 10
- Saw 19 snaps total, 16 on offense and three on special teams.
Chris Godwin (2014-16) WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers 19, Cowboys 3
- Started and made three catches for 35 yards.
Robbie Gould (2016-18) DT, San Francisco 49ers
Bears 19, 49ers 10
- Converted on a 25-yard field goal and an extra point.
- Combined with his 276 career made field goals as a member of the Chicago Bears, Gould is the 13th kicker in NFL history to reach 100 made field goals for two different franchises.
- He also is just the seventh kicker in NFL history to record 200 made field goals with one franchise and 100 field goals with another (Gary Anderson; Morten Anderson; John Carney; Ryan Longwell; Matt Stover; Adam Vinatieri).
Yetur Gross-Matos (2017-19) DE, Carolina Panthers
Browns 26, Panthers 24
- Started at defensive end an made two tackles and a QB hurry.
Grant Haley (2014-17) S, Los Angeles Rams
Bills 31, Rams 10
- Haley is on Los Angeles' practice squad.
KJ Hamler (2018-19) WR, Denver Broncos
Seahawks 17, Broncos 16
- Saw 40 snaps on offense for the Broncos.
Jesse James (2012-14) TE, Cleveland Browns
Browns 26, Panthers 24
- Played 10 total snaps, five on offense and five on special teams.
Austin Johnson (2013-15) DT, Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers 24, Raiders 19
- Started, recorded a tackle and defended a pass.
DaQuan Jones (2010-13) DL, Buffalo Bills
Bills 31, Rams 10
- Started at defensive tackle and recorded three tackles and a QB hurry.
John Lovett (2021) RB, Carolina Panthers
Browns 26, Panthers 24
- Lovett is on Carolina's practice squad.
Jesse Luketa (2018-21) LB, Arizona Cardinals
Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21
- Luketa is on Arizona's practice squad.
Connor McGovern (2016-18) OL, Dallas Cowboys
Buccaneers 19, Cowboys 3
- Started at left guard.
- Exited the game due to an injury.
Trace McSorley (2015-18) QB, Arizona Cardinals
Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21
- Came off the bench for the Cardinals, completing 2-of-4 passes for 12 yards.
- Added three carries for 20 yards with a long rush of 14 yards.
Carl Nassib (2013-15) DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers 19, Cowboys 3
- Saw action on 20 snaps, 19 on defense and one on special teams.
Amani Oruwariye (2015-18) CB, Detroit Lions
Eagles 38, Lions 35
- Started, made four tackles and defended a pass.
Odafe Oweh (2019-20) DE, Baltimore Ravens
Ravens 24, Jets 9
- Started for the Ravens and made two solo tackles.
Micah Parsons (2018-19) LB, Dallas Cowboys
Buccaneers 19, Cowboys 3
- Tallied five tackles and two sacks.
- Parsons is one-of-five players in NFL history to have 15.0 sacks in his first 17 games as a pro, joining John Abraham (15.5), Joey Bosa (15.0), Jevon Kearse (15.0) and Aldon Smith (15.0).
- Parsons' four multi-sack games are the most by any Cowboy in his first two seasons.
John Reid (2015-19) CB, Seattle Seahawks
Seahawks 17, Broncos 16
- Reid is on injured reserve.
Allen Robinson II (2011-13) WR, Los Angeles Rams
Bills 31, Rams 10
- Started and made one reception for 12 yards.
Miles Sanders (2016-18) RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles 38, Lions 35
- Tallied 96 yards on 13 carries (7.4 average) with one touchdown.
- Added two catches for nine yards.
- Ranks third among NFL running backs with 5.1 yards per carry since 2019, trailing only Nick Chubb (5.4) and Jonathan Taylor (5.3) (min. 300 carries).
Nick Scott (2015-18) S, Los Angeles Rams
Bills 31, Rams 10
- Made the start at free safety.
- Combined for seven tackles, forced a fumble and defended a pass.
Brandon Smith (2019-21) LB, Carolina Panthers
Browns 26, Panthers 24
- Saw 17 snaps on special teams.
Donovan Smith (2012-14) OT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers 19, Cowboys 3
- Started and saw 23 snaps on offense.
Jordan Stout (2019-21) P, Baltimore Ravens
Ravens 24, Jets 9
- Averaged 48.5 yards (40.2 net) on six punts, including three inside the 20 and a long punt of 64.
Derrick Tangelo (2021) DT, Atlanta Falcons
Saints 27, Falcons 26
- Tangelo is on Atlanta's practice squad.
Shaka Toney (2017-20) DE, Washington Commanders
Commanders 28, Jaguars 22
- Saw 19 total snaps.
Rasheed Walker (2019-21) OL, Green Bay Packers
Vikings 23, Packers 7
- Was active for the game but did not play.
No. 22/23 Penn State travels to Auburn on Saturday, September 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
The 2022 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.