Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525333
3 8 S E P T E M B E R 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 bright spots for a Penn State offense that struggled badly in 2014 and '15, catching 95 passes for 1,439 yards his first two years on campus. By his junior year, the rest of the offense had caught up, and Godwin shined as part of a balanced attack, catching 59 passes for 982 yards and 11 touchdowns in Penn State's Big Ten championship season. Godwin is now preparing for his eighth NFL season, all with Tampa Bay, the team that chose him in the third round of the 2017 draft. 6. OLUMUYIWA FASHANU | OT | 2020-23 Fashanu had a relatively brief career, seeing action in 29 games over three seasons and starting 21. Yet that was more than enough for the former four-star prospect from Gonzaga College High in Washington, D.C., to become one of the most decorated linemen in program his- tory. As a redshirt junior — he opted to re- turn even though he would have been a first-round draft pick had he come out in 2022 — Fashanu didn't allow a single sack on 382 pass-blocking snaps. He was a consensus first-team All-American and the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year. In April, Fashanu was selected 11th overall by the New York Jets. He will begin his rookie season in September. 7. PAT F R E I E R M U T H | T E | 2 0 1 8 -2 0 If Penn State's tight end corps didn't miss a beat when Gesicki graduated, it was because Freiermuth was ready to step into action as a true freshman in 2018. He started nine games that year, win- ning Freshman All-America notice after catching 26 passes for 368 yards and 8 touchdowns. Even though his career was cut short by a shoulder injury in 2020, he still broke Gesicki's school record for most touchdown catches by a tight end, finish- ing with 16. Freiermuth was chosen by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2021 draft, be- ginning his pro career at Heinz Field, the same stadium where he made the first of his 92 collegiate catches (a 5-yarder against Pitt in September 2018). 8 . DA ES E A N H A M I LTO N | W R | 2 0 1 3 -17 We're leaving some very good receiv- ers off this list, future NFL players such as Jahan Dotson and KJ Hamler. That's because nobody in Penn State history has more career catches than Hamilton's 214. A former three-star prospect from Fredericksburg, Va., Hamilton had at least one catch in 51 of his 53 college games. He left Penn State after the 2017 season having handily surpassed Deon Butler's 179 career catches while also ranking sec- ond in receiving yards with 2,842 (behind Bobby Engram's 3,026). 9. M I L ES SA N D E RS | R B | 2 0 1 6 -1 8 It's probably fortunate for Penn State that Sanders came along before the ad- vent of the transfer portal, because the four-star Pittsburgh running back ad- mittedly grew impatient with his role as Barkley's little-used understudy in 2016 and '17. Everything worked out in his favor, though. When he finally got his chance to start in 2018, Sanders rushed for 1,274 yards and 9 touch- downs, establishing himself as a bona fide NFL prospect with a lot less tread wear than most of his fellow draft hopefuls. Sanders was chosen by Phil- adelphia in the second round of the 2019 draft and was one of the stars of the Eagles' sprint to Super Bowl LVII, rushing for 1,269 yards and making the Pro Bowl in 2023. This summer, he's getting ready for his second season with Carolina. 1 0 . RYA N BAT ES | OT | 2 0 1 5 -1 8 Penn State's upgraded of- fensive line was a big part of its 2016 turnaround, and Bates, then a redshirt freshman, was one of its key performers. He started all 14 games, winning Freshman All-America notice from the Football Writers Association of America and USA Today, and he went on to start 20 games over the next two seasons. Bates opted to leave after his redshirt junior season, a move that seemed to backfire when he went undrafted. But he's still playing in the NFL, having signed a four-year, $17 million contract with Buf- falo in 2022 before being traded in March to Chicago. D E F E N S E 1 . M I C A H PA RS O N S | L B | 2 0 1 8 -1 9 A five-star prospect from nearby Har- risburg, Parsons was a must-have recruit for the Nittany Lions in the 2018 cycle. That's why it was so alarming when he announced in April 2017 that he was re- opening his recruitment after having been committed to PSU for more than a year. Parsons assured fans that Penn State was "still one of my top schools," but history suggested otherwise. Fans understood all too well that once a recruit strays, he rarely returns. Except this time he did. Parsons re- joined Penn State's class on signing day, and he subsequently lived up to all the excitement that greeted his return. Franklin-Era Recruiting Rankings James Franklin came to Penn State at a moment when its recruiting efforts were being hindered by the scholarship restrictions the NCAA had put in place in 2012. In the two years preceding his arrival in January 2014, Penn State's classes had placed 48th and 41st nationally. Helped along by the NCAA's decision in September 2014 to abandon its remaining sanctions, Franklin quickly began to improve the team's fortunes. Here's a look at how his classes have fared in the On3 Industry Team Rankings: Yr. National Rk. Big Ten Rk. Players 4-Star 5-Star 2025* 17th 5th 23 12 0 2024 15th 2nd 26 13 0 2023 14th 2nd 23 14 0 2022 7th 2nd 25 13 3 2021 18th 4th 17 7 0 2020 14th 3rd 26 13 0 2019 10th 2nd 22 15 1 2018 5th 2nd 23 12 3 2017 17th 3rd 21 11 0 2016 21st 4th 19 9 1 2015 14th 2nd 25 12 0 2014 23rd 3rd 19 7 0 * As of Aug. 13