Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1420595
N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 1 6 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 53.6 yards against the Washington Football Team in Week 5, downing three inside the 3-yard line — becoming the first punter to do that since 2000, according to ESPN Stats and Info. Kevin Givens (2015-18), DT, San Francisco 49ers: Givens was placed on injured reserve following San Francisco's second game of the season and has remained there since. He is expected to make his return soon. Chris Godwin (2014-16), WR, Tampa Bay Bucca- neers: Godwin turned in a quiet performance by his lofty standards against the Eagles but did what he could with his opportunities, catching all five of his targets for 43 yards in a Tampa Bay win. Robbie Gould (2001-04), K, San Francisco 49ers: Gould has been out since Week 3 with an injury. Yetur Gross-Matos (2017-19), DE, Carolina Pan- thers: In his second week back from an injury, Gross- Matos played sparingly on defense, accumulating 21 snaps. KJ Hamler (2017-19), WR, Denver Broncos: Ham- ler suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in a Week 3 victory over the New York Jets and will miss the rest of the season. Chris Hogan (2007-10), WR, New Orleans Saints: Hogan had four receptions for 41 yards and a touch- down five games into his season in New Orleans. Jesse James (2012-14), TE, Chicago Bears: Af- ter not seeing the field the previous week, James played 11 offensive snaps for the Bears in their loss to the Packers. He has still yet to be targeted in the passing game this season. Austin Johnson (2012-15), DT, New York Giants: Johnson contributed another productive day for the Giants in their loss to the Rams, finishing with six tackles for the game to tie a season-high. He's up to 30 total tackles and three sacks in his second season with New York. Juwan Johnson (2015-18), TE, New Orleans Saints: Johnson has emerged as a key red zone target for the Saints, with six receptions and three touchdowns through five games. DaQuan Jones (2010-13), DT, Carolina Panthers: Jones did not register a tackle for the Panthers in their overtime loss to the Vikings, but he did make an impact as a pass rusher. His average separation from quarterback Kirk Cousins at the time of the throw was 4.3 yards according to Next Gen Stats, much better than the league average. He has nine tackles and one sack on the season. Connor McGovern (2016-18), OL, Dallas Cow- boys: McGovern, who continues to operate in a reserve role on the offensive line, has also carved out a niche for himself as a fullback in certain pack- ages. He has yet to carry the ball but has proved an effective run blocker for the Cowboys' offense out of the backfield. Carl Nassib (2011-15), DE, Las Vegas Raiders: Nassib played 27 snaps and registered one tackle in the Raiders' win over Denver. He had 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble through six games. Amani Oruwariye (2014-18), CB, Detroit Lions: Oruwariye came away with his third interception of the season against the Bengals, providing a bright spot for Detroit in an otherwise lopsided defeat. He added a pair of tackles while keeping up his ironman streak. He's still yet to miss a defensive snap for the Lions this season. Odafe Oweh (2018-20), DE, Baltimore Ravens: Oweh didn't register a tackle for the Ravens in their blowout win over the Chargers. However, Next Gen Stats rated him as the Ravens' best pass rusher based on his average separation from Justin Herbert at the time of the pass. He's done nothing but make big plays for the Ravens since arriving, with three sacks and a pair of forced fumbles through his first six games. Micah Parsons (2018-19), LB, Dallas Cowboys: Parsons played every snap for the Cowboys in their win over the Patriots in Week 6, finishing with five tackles for the game. He was critical of his showing afterward, telling reporters that he wanted to make more impactful plays throughout the game. Still, there's not much to nitpick from his first six games in the NFL, with 30 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Parsons is a significant favorite to win the Defen- sive Rookie of the Year award according to Vegas Insider, sitting at +225 odds through six weeks. All the other contenders are at least 6:1 odds. John Reid (2015-19), CB, Seattle Seahawks: Reid remains listed on the Seahawks' active roster but has not appeared in a game since Week 3. He has played one defensive snap and eight special teams snaps on the season. Allen Robinson II (2011-13), WR, Chicago Bears: Robinson was targeted seven times and finished with four receptions for 53 yards in a loss to Green Bay — his second-largest yardage total in what has been a down season for the star wideout. Bears quarterback Justin Fields missed a wide-open Rob- inson on a deep shot early in the game. He has 21 receptions for 234 yards (11.1 per catch) and a touchdown in six games this year. Miles Sanders (2016-18), RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Sanders has been limited by what appears to be a very run-averse Philadelphia offense six games in. Making the most of the chances he did get, Sanders was efficient in the game, carrying nine times for 56 yards, his second-highest total of the season. Nick Scott (2014-18), S, Los Angeles Rams: Scott played 33 snaps on defense in the Rams' victory over the Giants, the third-highest total of his career. The safety finished the game with a pair of tackles. Donovan Smith (2011-14), OL, Tampa Bay Buc- caneers: Smith played all 75 snaps for the Bucs against the Eagles. Shaka Toney (2016-20), DE, Washington Football Team: Toney made his NFL debut in Week 6 against Kansas City, playing 11 snaps on defense and four on special teams in Washington's loss. Ross Travis (2012-15), TE, Cardinals: The former Penn State basketball player got into his second game of the season against Cleveland in Week 6, seeing four snaps. He also played a pair of snaps on special teams. ■ Tanisha Wright Named Head Coach Of Atlanta Dream Former Penn State women's basketball great Tanisha Wright was named head coach of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream on Oct. 12. Described by Dream co-owner and vice president Renee Montgomery as a "rising talent," Wright is making her head coaching debut after spending 16 years in the league as a player and assistant coach. For the past two seasons, she served as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces. Wright said at her introduction that she's looking to draw on her experiences as both a player and coach at the WNBA level. "I've been coached by a lot of amazing coaches, coaches in the WNBA who are very successful, top-tier coaches," she said. "Just being able to take little tidbits from each coach I've worked with has helped me. And being able to pass along what I've learned from my success as a player is going to help me be a really good coach in this league." Wright, a native of West Mifflin, Pa., was a three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year during her time at Penn State from 2001-05. She also averaged 14.9 points per game, including a 19.3-point clip as a senior. Selected by the Seattle Storm with the 12th overall pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft, Wright won a league championship with the franchise in 2010. She also spent time with the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx in the final years of her playing career before announcing her retirement after the 2019 season. Wright began her coaching career at UNC Charlotte in 2017 while she was still an ac- tive WNBA player. She joined the Las Vegas Aces' staff in 2020, helping them finish third in the league in scoring defense, holding op- ponents to 80.1 points per game. At Atlanta, she'll be looking to help the Dream rebound from an 8-24 finish this past season and said she's eager to instill a win- ning mindset. "I think in order to have success, you have to start with your culture," she said. "It starts with the people that you surround yourself with, that you're building your organization with. All of that is really im- portant and exciting, because you're going to end up with a collective group of people who really understand what it takes for your organization to be successful." — Matt Herb