Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
6 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T hese days, it's nearly a foregone conclusion that aspiring NFL play- ers will not stick around for the duration of their eligibility if they ex- pect to be chosen in the first few rounds of the draft following their mandated three-year collegiate apprenticeship. Who can blame them? Even with NIL collectives pouring money into the col- lege game, the NFL is football's most lucrative level. What's more, medical science has over the years provided a more complete picture of the toll that the sport takes on the human body. Players know all too well that they have only so many years of football in them, and for obvious reasons, most would like to maximize their earnings before the inevitable decline sets in. Those factors surely played a role in the decisions that eight Penn State play- ers made in recent weeks to forgo their remaining college eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. Defensive end Chop Robin- son was the first, announcing in early December that he would skip his senior season in the hope of becoming a first- rounder in April. He was later joined by fellow defensive end Adisa Isaac, offen- sive linemen Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Caedan Wallace, cornerbacks Kalen King and Daequan Hardy, linebacker Curtis Jacobs, tight end Theo Johnson and run- ning back Trey Potts. Fashanu is seen as a lock to be the first PSU player off the board, while King was being hailed before the season as a potential first-rounder but appears to have slipped lately in the estimation of the nation's draft pundits. For most of those players, the deci- sion to leave eligibility on the table likely wasn't especially fraught. Few, if any, had been expected to return in 2024. But those stay-or-go choices haven't always been so easily predicted. In the winter of 1986, for example, All- America linebacker Shane Conlan had to choose whether to pursue a national championship at Penn State or begin his pro career. Conlan was coming off a strong showing in the Orange Bowl, a game that pitted No. 1 PSU against No. 2 Oklahoma for the national title. He had helped contain Sooners star Jamelle Holieway, spearheading a defensive ef- fort that held the dynamic dual-threat quarterback to 1 yard on 12 carries. Penn State had lost the game, though, falling 25-10 and ending up third in the Associated Press poll. The Nittany Lions had a terrific de- fense coming back in 1986, and they looked particularly strong at linebacker, with veterans Trey Bauer, Pete Gifto- poulos and Don Graham all returning. Conlan had demurred when asked prior to the Orange Bowl about his fu- ture. "I'll talk to my family, and Coach Pa- terno wants to talk to me and a bunch of the coaches," he told reporters. "Right now, I'm not really sure. "I'm far from being a great line- backer," he added. "I don't consider DELAYED GRATIFICATION Shane Conlan's decision in 1986 to postpone the NFL paid off both for him and for the title-hungry Nittany Lions M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M A little-known recruit coming out of Western New York, Conlan was named Defensive MVP of both the 1986 Orange Bowl and the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS