Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1115425
overall) and NaVorro Bowman (third, 91st), tight ends Andrew Quarless (fifth, 154th) and Mickey Shuler Jr. (seventh, 214st) and linebacker Josh Hull (seventh, 254th). The biggest draft class in school his- tory was the 1987 group. It numbered 13 players and was headlined by first- round picks Shane Conlan and D.J. Dozier. Of course, the draft was 11 rounds back then, so there were a lot more picks than there are now Since the draft was shortened to seven rounds in 1994, the Lions' biggest class was the 10-player group that it sent into the league in 1997. RUNNING BACK U? Assistant coach Ja'Juan Seider suggested this spring that Penn State could easily replace its Line- backer U moniker with the position more near and dear to his heart. And by sending Sanders to the Eagles in the sec- ond round, just one year after Saquon Barkley was selected No. 2 overall by the New York Giants, the Nittany Lions' second-year running backs coach might have a point. P E N N S T A T E D R A F T E E S MILES SANDERS TEAM Philadelphia ROUND 2nd PICK 53rd QUOTABLE "I had a real good connec- tion with them. The coaches are all laid back and cool, very family-oriented. I felt at home. It's not too far from home, either. I fell in love with Coach [Duce] Staley. He's a good coach and he's coached some great running backs in the past few years, too." FRANKLIN SAYS "When his time came, it was no sur- prise to see him excel, and we expect to see more of the same from him with the Eagles. Miles has a ton of all-around potential." CONNOR McGOVERN TEAM Dallas ROUND 3rd PICK 90th QUOTABLE "I've been watching [the Cowboys] since I got into college. As an O-line unit at Penn State, we would al- ways watch them, just their chemistry and how well they played together. We tried molding our game after that." FRANKLIN SAYS "He has great lateral quickness for his size, which will be valuable at the next level. Connor is nat- urally strong on the field and plays with a finisher's mental- ity. His flexibility to play multiple posi- tions... is really valu- able." SHAREEF MILLER TEAM Philadelphia ROUND 4th PICK 138th QUOTABLE "It still feels like a dream. I'm just so happy and just super ex- cited and super blessed and super thankful that the Eagles gave this op- portunity to me, and just to be home, too. It couldn't be a bet- ter story." FRANKLIN SAYS "Shareef's motor does not stop. He consistently plays with great effort and pursues the football as well as any player in our program. ... Shareef's maturity and growth, both on and off the field, is something we are very proud of." AMANI ORUWARIYE TEAM Detroit ROUND 5th PICK 146th QUOTABLE "[Lions CB] Darius Slay plays the deep ball really well. It's just great techniques. That's what I think I've watched on him from film. He's somebody that I'm going to really lean on and seek advice from and try to [pat- tern] my game after." FRANKLIN SAYS "I am so proud of the work Amani has put in to position him- self as one of the top defensive backs in the country. He overcame a lot in his time at Penn State and was a two-time All-Big Ten per- former." TRACE McSORLEY TEAM Baltimore ROUND 6th PICK 197th QUOTABLE "A lot of people said [Ravens QB Lamar Jackson] might want to change positions, and he stuck to his guns and ended up leading them to the playoffs last year. I think he's a tremen- dous athlete, dy- namic player, great leader, and I'm look- ing forward to being able to learn from him." FRANKLIN SAYS "He has a terrific football IQ and is a winner in every sense of the word, and we know he'll bring the same mentality to the Ravens." NICK SCOTT TEAM L.A. Rams ROUND 7th PICK 243rd QUOTABLE "[Rams special teams coor- dinator John Fassel] told me he was going to draft me, and he kept his word. So I'm looking forward to not only being a huge part of his special teams, but contributing to that defense." FRANKLIN SAYS "Nick played his best football as a senior. He is an ag- gressive, fearless tackler who is one of the most explosive athletes in our pro- gram. We're also proud of Nick for graduating with his degree in psychol- ogy last August."