UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A total of 42 Penn State football alumni are populating the rosters of 24 National Football League teams. The Nittany Lions annually rank among the top 20 programs nationally in producing players in the NFL.
Pat Freiermuth led the Steelers' receiving corps with 76 yards through the air in their 19-16 win over the Falcons on Sunday. Freiermuth is one of just five tight ends in the NFL to have eclipsed 500 receiving yards to this point in the season. Defensively, Nick Scott posted a solid effort with eight tackles for the Rams, and Jordan Stout had a career day punting for the Ravens in a low-scoring affair against the Broncos.
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 19, Falcons 16
- Made a solo stop.
Adrian Amos (2011-14) S, Green Bay Packers
Packers 28, Bears 19
- Picked up three solo tackles, including a tackle for loss.
Saquon Barkley (2015-17) RB, New York Giants
Giants 20, Commanders 20
- Carried the ball 18 times for 63 yards and a touchdown.
- Added five grabs for 18 yards.
- Sits at fourth in the NFL rushing yardage leaderboard (1,055). Remains second in attempts (242). Tied for eighth in touchdowns with eight.
- Went over 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the third time in his NFL career, and first time since the 2019 campaign.
Ryan Bates (2016-18) OL, Buffalo Bills
Bills 24, Patriots 10
- Made his 12th start.
- Has played 100 percent of the offensive snaps in ten of the Bills' 12 games this season.
Nick Bowers (2018-19) TE, Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals 27, Chiefs 24
- Bowers is on Cincinnati's practice squad.
Jaquan Brisker (2019-21) S, Chicago Bears
Packers 28, Bears 19
- Was inactive.
Cam Brown (2016-19) LB, New York Giants
Giants 20, Commanders 20
- Saw action on special teams.
Jason Cabinda (2014-17) FB, Detroit Lions
Lions 40, Jaguars 14
- Carried once for four yards.
Tariq Castro-Fields (2017-21) CB, Washington Commanders
Commanders 20, Giants 20
- Is on injured reserve.
Dan Chisena (2019) WR, Minnesota Vikings
Vikings 27, Jets 22
- Chisena is on Minnesota's practice squad.
Jahan Dotson (2018-21) WR, Washington Commanders
Commanders 20, Giants 20
- Made five grabs for 54 yards and a touchdown.
- His 28-yard touchdown reception tied the game late in the fourth quarter.
Arnold Ebiketie (2021) DE, Atlanta Falcons
Steelers 29, Falcons 16
- Was inactive.
Sam Ficken (2014) K, Detroit Lions
Lions 40, Jaguars 14
- Ficken is on Detroit's practice squad.
Pat Freiermuth (2018-20) TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers 19, Falcons 16
- Caught three passes for 76 yards, including a career-long 57-yard grab.
- Is fourth in the NFL, among tight ends, in receiving yards, with 597.
Will Fries (2017-20) OL, Indianapolis Colts
Cowboys 54, Colts 19
- Made his fifth start and played 100 percent of the offensive snaps for the fourth consecutive week.
Mike Gesicki (2014-17) TE, Miami Dolphins
49ers 33, Dolphins 17
- Saw one target in the passing game.
Blake Gillikin (2016-19) P, New Orleans Saints
Buccaneers 17, Saints 16
- Punted six times for 262 yards, averaging 43.7 yards per punt.
- Landed three of the six punts inside the 20-yard line.
- His longest punt was a 62-yarder.
Kevin Givens (2016-18) DT, San Francisco 49ers
49ers 33, Dolphins 17
- Posted a solo stop.
Chris Godwin (2014-16) WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers 17, Saints 16
- Led the team with eight grabs for 63 yards on 13 targets.
Robbie Gould (2016-18) K, San Francisco 49ers
49ers 33, Dolphins 17
- Drilled four field goals, including a long of 48 yards.
- Connected on three extra points to highlight his 15-point day.
- Moved into 10th on the NFL's all-time points scored leaderboard with 1,919 points.
Yetur Gross-Matos (2017-19) DE, Carolina Panthers
Panthers bye week
Grant Haley (2014-17) S, Los Angeles Rams
Seahawks 27, Rams 23
- Is on injured reserve.
KJ Hamler (2018-19) WR, Denver Broncos
Ravens 10, Broncos 9
- Is on injured reserve.
Jesse James (2012-14) TE, Cleveland Browns
Browns 27, Texans 14
- Is on injured reserve.
Austin Johnson (2013-15) DT, Los Angeles Chargers
Raiders 27, Chargers 20
- Is on injured reserve.
DaQuan Jones (2010-13) DL, Buffalo Bills
Bills 24, Patriots 10
- Made his 12th start of the season on the defensive line.
Jesse Luketa (2018-21) LB, Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals bye week
Connor McGovern (2016-18) OL, Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys 54, Colts 19
- Made his tenth start of the season.
Trace McSorley (2015-18) QB, Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals bye week
Carl Nassib (2013-15) DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers 17, Saints 16
- Made two solo tackles, including a sack.
- Defended a pass.
Amani Oruwariye (2015-18) CB, Detroit Lions
Lions 40, Jaguars 14
- Was inactive.
Odafe Oweh (2019-20) DE, Baltimore Ravens
Ravens 10, Broncos 9
- Made one sack.
Micah Parsons (2018-19) LB, Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys 54, Colts 19
- Made two tackles (1 solo).
- Added a pass breakup and a quarterback hit.
- Sits third in the NFL with 12.0 sacks.
Allen Robinson II (2011-13) WR, Los Angeles Rams
Seahawks 27, Rams 23
- Is on injured reserve.
Miles Sanders (2016-18) RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles 35, Titans 10
- Rushed 10 times for 24 yards and a touchdown.
- Caught two passes for 14 yards.
- Currently sixth in the NFL with 924 rushing yards.
- Tied for fifth in the league with nine rushing scores.
Nick Scott (2015-18) S, Los Angeles Rams
Seahawks 27, Rams 20
- Made eight tackles (5 solo).
- Broke up a pass.
Brandon Smith (2019-21) LB, Carolina Panthers
Panthers bye week
Donovan Smith (2012-14) OT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers 17, Saints 16
- Made his tenth start.
Jordan Stout (2019-21) P, Baltimore Ravens
Ravens 10, Broncos 9
- Punted six times for 303 yards, averaging 50.5 yards per boot.
- Dropped a career-best five punts inside the 20-yard line.
- Long punt was 63 yards.
Derrick Tangelo (2021) DT, Atlanta Falcons
Steelers 19, Falcons 16
- Tangelo is on Atlanta's practice squad.
Shaka Toney (2017-20) DE, Washington Commanders
Commanders 20, Giants 20
- Saw action on special teams.
Rasheed Walker (2019-21) OL, Green Bay Packers
Packers 28, Bears 19
- Walker was inactive.
No. 11 Penn State is returning to the Rose Bowl Game for the first time since the 2016 season when the Nittany Lions take on Pac-12 foe No. 8 Utah on Monday, January 2 at 5 p.m. The game will air on ESPN.
The Nittany Lions had 23 All-Big Ten selections, including 10 on offense, 10 on defense and three on special teams.
The 2022 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.