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reer receptions rank third in school his- tory for a tight end behind Gesicki's 129 and Kwalick's 88, and his nine career touchdowns were just one fewer than Kwalick's total. Brady was the ninth player taken in the 1995 NFL Draft, going in the first round to the New York Jets. The ultra-critical New York media and fans created a pres- sure cooker that hampered Brady for four years until he left for Jacksonville and became a star. He played 13 years before retiring, and according to a 2015 ESPN story, he was the highest-paid tight end in football at one point with about $30 million in earnings. Mickey Shuler Sr. 1975-77 6-3 | 224 | Enola, Pa. Shuler is almost forgotten nowadays because he played in the era of run-ori- ented offenses with a tight end, split end and flanker. He is still 33rd in the Penn State record books for career receiving yardage with 1,016 yards on 67 catches, leading the team in receiving yardage in his junior and senior years. Shuler's 600 yards in 1977 constituted the second- highest single-season total by a receiver to that point in school history, trailing only Curry's 681-yard total in 1967. That performance earned him second-team All-America honors, making him one of only three Lion tight ends to be similarly recognized. Perhaps Shuler's best game was the 1977 squeaker over North Car- olina State, a 21-17 win in which he caught seven passes for 93 yards to help set up two touchdowns. Shuler was another tight end who needed time to develop. In the spring of 1976, he won the Red Worrell Award for his "attitude and improvement." As ex- plained in the 1977 media guide, Shuler "has great hands and has improved his speed and blocking each year." No Penn State tight end had a longer pro career, and that, too, took some time to evolve. The Jets chose him in the third round in 1978, but he didn't become a full-time starter until 1984 and then played in the '86 and '88 Pro Bowls. Shuler spent the last of his 14 NFL sea- sons with Philadelphia, retiring before the 1992 season. His son, Mickey Jr., was a dependable tight end for Penn State from 2005-09 but struggled with in- juries during his six-year NFL career. Mike Gesicki 2014-17 6-6 | 257 | Manahawkin, N.J. Gesicki was Penn State's first elite tight end of the 21st century. With NCAA sanctions still hindering the pro- gram, the highly recruited Gesicki was one of the shining stars of the Lions' 2014 class. His first two years were marred by dropped passes, and he struggled with blocking throughout his career, but his receiving was instrumen- tal in Penn State's Big Ten championship season of 2016 and its Fiesta Bowl vic- tory the following year (when he was tabbed a second-team All-American). Gesicki's career total of 1,481 yards leads all Penn State tight ends and is 18th on the all-time receiving list, while his nine touchdowns in 2017 are the most by a PSU tight end in a single sea- son. His other records are now being challenged by Freiermuth, who last sea- son tied him in career touchdowns with 15. After getting off to a slow start in the F A S T F O R W A R D >> A N E A R L Y L O O K A T T H E ALL-TIME GREAT Kwalick claimed All-America hon- ors following his junior and senior seasons and went on to play on the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl-winning 1976 team. Photo courtesy of the Pattee & Paterno Library

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