Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1495456
A P R I L 2 0 2 3 6 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M yards per carry. He ranks third in that category among running backs with at least 250 carries, trailing only Dallas' Tony Pollard (5.34) and Cleveland's Nick Chubb (5.25). He is expected to be the lead back for the NFC South franchise. FORMER NITTANY LIONS SIGN NEW DEALS Barkley and Sanders aren't the only former Nittany Lions with new contracts. Interior offensive lineman Connor McGovern left the Dallas Cowboys, where he had played since 2019, for a three-year, $23 million deal with the Buffalo Bills. McGovern, who started 15 games and allowed just 2 sacks last year, is expected to man the left guard position with the Bills. He will be reunited with former PSU teammate Ryan Bates, the Bills' starting right guard. McGovern and Bates started together on the Lions' offensive line from 2016-18. Tight end Mike Gesicki is also chang- ing teams. After spending his first five seasons in Miami, he signed a one-year, $9 million deal with New England on March 17. That, too, will be a Penn State re- union of sorts. Gesicki will be joining Bill O'Brien, who was hired in January as the Patriots' offensive coordinator. When O'Brien was PSU's head coach, he recruited Gesicki out of Southern Re- gional (N.J) High. By the time the four- star tight end arrived in 2014, however, O'Brien had left to become head coach of the Houston Texans. Safety Nick Scott also has a new team after spending the past four sea- sons with the Los Angeles Rams. Scott signed a three-year, $12 million deal with Cincinnati. Elsewhere, defensive tackle Kevin Givens and punter Blake Gillikin re- signed with San Francisco and New Orleans, respectively. Givens got a one- year contract extension worth $2.1 mil- lion, with $2 million guaranteed after seeing action in 13 games each of the past two seasons. The terms of Gillikin's deal were not disclosed, but we do know this: In ad- dition to a new contract, he is getting a new number. Gillikin will wear jersey No. 5 next season, having given up No. 4 to newly signed free agent quarterback Derek Carr. One other former Nittany Lion — vet- eran offensive tackle Donovan Smith —was looking for a new NFL home as of mid-March. Smith was waived by Tampa Bay after an eight-season tenure with the Buccaneers in which he started 131 of 137 games. ■ Former Lion Robert Windsor Sees XFL As Springboard It didn't work out when former Penn State defensive tackle Robert Windsor first tried to find a home in the NFL in 2020. Chosen in the sixth round by Indianapolis, Windsor was waived in training camp and signed to the practice squad. After the season, he signed a reserve/futures contract with the team but was placed on injured reserve in July 2021 after undergoing hip and groin surgery. He ended up missing the season and announced in April 2022 that he was retir- ing from football. Now, however, Windsor is back in action and hoping for a second chance at an NFL career. The All-Big Ten performer is one of seven former Penn State players who currently ap- pear on XFL rosters. The latest incarnation of the spring league is being billed as a proving ground for NFL hopefuls, and its 10-game regular season got underway on Feb. 18. Windsor is with the Las Vegas Vipers. He saw action in each of the team's first four games, making 12 tackles, including 2 for loss. During a December appearance on "The Steve Jones Show," Windsor said he believes the COVID-related cancellation of preseason games during his rookie NFL season hindered his career by preventing other teams from evaluating him. "The [Colts] coaches didn't feel like they needed to sign me because they didn't think anyone else would pick me up," he told Jones. With his XFL career underway, Windsor finally has a chance to show off the progress he's made since leaving Penn State after the 2019 season. "I see the XFL as an opportunity to get back in the NFL," he said. "That's everyone's mindset in the XFL. No one is in the XFL to be an XFL hero. It's a platform to catapult you back into the NFL." Six other Penn State football alumni are hoping to do likewise. Running back John Lovett, who spent the 2021 season at Penn State after transferring from Baylor, has joined Windsor in Las Vegas. Three former Nittany Lion players — guard Michal Menet, outside linebacker Shareef Miller and defensive end Daniel Joseph — are with the Seattle Sea Dragons. Guard Steven Gonzalez is with the St. Louis Battlehawks, while linebacker Ellis Brooks is on the D.C. Defenders' reserve list. — Matt Herb Windsor started 26 games and was a two-time All-Big Ten defensive tackle during his tenure at Penn State from 2015-19. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL