Blue White Illustrated

August 2022

Penn State Sports Magazine

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 109 of 115

1 1 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Player Pos. Career Starts Damion Barber DL 0 Barber played eight games at Penn State before deciding to leave the program. He transferred to Austin Peay, where he played in two games last fall, finishing the season with 10 tackles and blocking 2 kicks. Corey Bolds DL 0 Bolds never suited up for the Nittany Lions. He transferred after one season. Ellis Brooks LB 20 Brooks led the Nittany Lions with 100 tackles last fall, becoming the 23rd player in school history to reach the 100-tackle plateau in a season. He finished his career with 230 stops from his middle linebacker spot, highlighted by last year's game against Michigan in which he had 16 tackles. Brooks was a two-year starter before becoming a free-agent signee of the Green Bay Packers this past May. DJ Brown CB 0 Brown played in only seven games in three sea- sons at Penn State before transferring to Louisi- ana Tech, where he contributed mostly on special teams. Journey Brown RB 10 A little-known prospect coming out of Meadville (Pa.) High, Brown seemed to be on the verge of greatness after running for 890 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019. He capped a late-season surge by rushing for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl. But prior to the COVID-delayed 2020 season, he was diag- nosed with a heart condition and was forced to medically retire. Tariq Castro-Fields CB 30 Castro-Fields was a multiyear starter for the Nit- tany Lions, though his 2020 season was plagued by injuries. He was a three-time All-Big Ten pick, winning third-team notice from the media panel in 2019 and honorable mention honors the next two years. He finished with 138 career tackles and 3 interceptions. Sean Clifford QB 33 Set to return for his sixth and final college sea- son, Clifford is about to become a rare four-year starter for Penn State at quarterback. He is one of just three Nittany Lion players to have surpassed 8,000 yards of total offense, and he has a pro- gram-record 60.3 percent career completion rate. Brelin Faison-Walden LB 0 Faison-Walden played in one game over two sea- sons at Penn State. He transferred to Charlotte, where he suited up for 18 contests. Brailyn Franklin LB 0 Franklin left Penn State after just one season and transferred to Sam Houston, where he mostly played special teams for two seasons. Yetur Gross-Matos DE 25 A two-year starter, Gross-Matos finished his career ranked 10th in program history with 19 sacks. He is also one of only 11 Nittany Lions to record 20 tackles for loss in a season, which he did in 2018. He twice received first-team All-Big Ten honors. KJ Hamler WR 26 Hamler was electric as both a receiver and return man. He finished with 1,658 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns while also averaging 23.6 yards per kick return. He was twice an All-Big Ten selection. Fred Hansard DT 1 A career backup, Hansard was a deep rotation piece along the defensive line, seeing action in 26 career games. He could have returned for the 2022 season but elected not to use his extra year of eligibility. Mac Hippenhammer WR 0 Hippenhammer played both baseball and football at Penn State, seeing action in 20 football games over two seasons and catching a touchdown pass. He later transferred to Miami (Ohio), where he was a third-team All-Mid-American Conference selection in football during the 2020 season be- fore focusing only on baseball in 2021. Des Holmes OG 0 Holmes saw only backup snaps for the Nittany Lions. He did not return for the 2022 season de- spite being eligible to do so. Donovan Johnson CB 0 Johnson totaled 14 tackles and 3 pass breakups in 18 games. Slowed by injuries, he stepped away from football in 2021 but stayed at Penn State to complete his degree. Robbie Martin OT 0 Martin left the Lions and gave up football after just one season on campus. Mike Miranda C/G 30 Versatility was the name of Miranda's game. After playing right guard in 2019, he moved to left guard in 2020 and center in 2021. A three-year starter, he was a second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2020 and an honorable mention choice as a senior. He remains with the program in an undefined off-field role. Cameron Sullivan-Brown WR 2 Slowed by injuries, Sullivan-Brown was mostly a backup at Penn State. He caught 9 passes for 57 yards in 2019, his most productive year as a Nit- tany Lion. Jonathan Sutherland S/LB 3 To this point in his career, Sutherland has been best known as a key special teams contributor. He's one of only two FBS players to block 2 punts in a game, which he did against Idaho in 2019. Having elected to use his bonus season of eligibility, he'll play outside linebacker in 2022 after spending his first five years primarily at safety. C.J. Thorpe OL/DL 8 Thorpe came to Penn State as a highly touted of- fensive lineman but moved to defensive tackle in 2018 to fill an urgent need for depth. He later re- turned to offense and made eight starts during the 2019 and '20 seasons. Thorpe gave up football in 2021 after he was unable to find the right fit in the transfer portal. He graduated with two degrees. Lamont Wade S 22 Wade was a two-time All-Big Ten selection. He fin- ished his career with 153 tackles, 4 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. In his final game at PSU, a December 2020 matchup against Illinois, he had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Although he played only two seasons, KJ Hamler was ranked 16th in school history with 1,658 receiving yards when he left Penn State after the 2019 campaign to enter the NFL Draft. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL CLASS OF 2017 SUMMARY Players in class: 21 | On3 Consensus ranking: No. 16 Final Grade: D+ Twenty-one players signed in this Penn State class. However, it received significant contributions from only about 10 of those players, and only a handful played key roles on an ongoing basis. While there were a few multiyear starters, this group will mostly be remembered for what it wasn't. It's a signing class that was long on poten- tial but ultimately short on results.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Blue White Illustrated - August 2022