Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1294210
The NFL's Penn State alumni chapter was dealt a major setback on Sept. 20 when Saquon Barkley su:ered a torn ACL. Barkley saw his third season with the New York Giants end on a seemingly routine tackle by safety Eddie Jackson early in the second quarter of a 17-13 loss to Chicago. The for- mer Nittany Lion All- American immediately reached for his right knee a;er hitting the ground and appeared to be in pain as he was helped o: the 9eld. Two days later, he was placed on injured reserve by the Giants a;er an MRI con9rmed the ex- tent of his injury. "Losing a player who is such a good teammate and someone who's such a hard worker on the 9eld will impact the team in a lot of ways," Giants coach Joe Judge said. "Saquon is a tremendous player. We have even more respect for him as a per- son. I personally hate for this guy [to be forced out of action], as hard as he's worked and as much impact as he's had for this team. I know our team has simi- lar feelings as well." Barkley was one of 38 Penn State foot- ball alumni who were on the rosters of 23 NFL teams as the 2020 season began. Thirty-two of those players made 53- man rosters, while three were on prac- tice squads, two started the season on injured reserve and one – Bears defen- sive back Jordan Lucas – opted out of the season due to concerns about COVID-19. In addition, there are two players on the New York Jets' roster who attended Penn State but did not play football: men's lacrosse alum Chris Hogan and men's basketball alum Ross Travis. Both have now lasted longer in the NFL than most players, with Hogan in his eighth season and Travis in his 9;h. With Hogan and Travis included, Penn State's contingent of 40 NFL players on opening day rosters is the school's high- est total since at least 2006 and sur- passes its high of the past 15 years of 34 (2018). Additionally, seven former Nittany Lions are members of NFL coaching sta:s, a group led by 9rst-year Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule. Also among the ranks are Tom Bradley (Pitts- burgh, defensive backs); Bobby Engram (Baltimore, tight ends); Al Golden (Cincinnati, linebackers); D'Anton Lynn (Houston, secondary), Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Munchak (Denver, o:en- sive line) and Je: Nixon (Carolina, senior o:ensive assistant/running backs). ■ F O O T B A L L 38 Nittany Lion football alumni on opening day NFL rosters TEAM PLAYER (SEASONS) Baltimore Ravens..............................Trace McSorley (2) Buffalo Bills........................................ Ryan Bates (2) Carolina Panthers..............................Yetur Gross-Matos (R), Shareef Miller (2) Chicago Bears.................................... Jordan Lucas (5)**, Allen Robinson II (7) Dallas Cowboys................................. Sean Lee (11) IR, Connor McGovern (2) Denver Broncos..................................DaeSean Hamilton (3), K.J. Hamler (R) Detroit Lions....................................... Jason Cabinda (3), Jesse James (6), Amani Oruwariye (2) Green Bay Packers............................ Adrian Amos (6) Houston Texans................................. John Reid (R) Las Vegas Raiders............................. Carl Nassib (5) Los Angeles Rams.............................Nick Scott (2) Miami Dolphins.................................. Mike Gesicki (3) Minnesota Vikings.............................Dan Chisena (R) New Orleans Saints.......................... Blake Gillikin (R) IR New York Giants................................ Saquon Barkley (3) IR C, Cam Brown (R), Austin Johnson (5) New York Jets..................................... Sam Ficken (4), Chris Hogan (8; former PSU lacrosse player), Ross Travis (5, former PSU basketball player) Philadelphia Eagles.......................... Miles Sanders (2) Pittsburgh Steelers........................... Marcus Allen (3), Stefen Wisniewski (10) San Francisco 49ers......................... Kevin Givens (2), Robbie Gould (16) Tampa Bay Buccaneers................... Chris Godwin (4), A.Q. Shipley (9), Donovan Smith (6) Tennessee Titans.............................. Jack Crawford (9), DaQuan Jones (7) C Washington Football Team............ Troy Apke (3) PRACTICE SQUAD Indianapolis Colts............................. Robert Windsor (R) Las Vegas Raiders............................. Nick Bowers (R) Philadelphia Eagles.......................... Trevor Williams (5)*** * As of opening day | ** Opt-out | *** Promoted to active roster on Sept. 24 | C: captain | IR: injured reserve PRACTICE SQUAD BARKLEY P E N N S T A T E R S I N T H E N F L * TEAM PLAYER (SEASONS)