Blue White Illustrated

great leader with outstanding intelli- gence and one of Paterno's "Grand Ex- periment" scholar-athletes, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a 3.80 grade point average. In '97 Blackledge became the second Penn State player to be inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame, under the auspices of the college sports infor- mation directors. Blackledge is best re- membered for his performance in three great games: the shocking come-from- behind 48-14 win over then-No. 1 Pitt in '81; the '82 last-minute 27-24 victory over Nebraska in what many fans and media believe is the greatest game ever at Beaver Stadium; and the 27-23 na- tional championship conquest of Geor- gia in the 1983 Sugar Bowl when Black- ledge's dramatic 47-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Gregg Garrity helped Blackledge earn MVP honors for the game. He still ranks eighth in career passing at Penn State with 4,812 yards on 378 completions in 692 attempts with 41 touchdowns, but still holds the dubious career interception record of 41. Because of his long career as national broadcaster of college football games, Blackledge is probably the most famous of all the Penn State players who have worn the No. 14 jersey. JOHN SHAFFER (1984-86 – QB) Despite leading two teams to back-to- back national championship games in '85 and '86, and winning it all in'86, Sha;er is still maligned by many fans. He was an inconsistent passer and he wasn't much of a runner, but he was the quintessential leader, intelligent and cool under pressure. Sha;er wasn't good enough to be an All-American, but he was a winner. He lost just one game in his high school and college careers, but it was a doozy, a 25-10 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma for the national title in '85. Sha;er took the blame for the loss, and most fans and many in the media wanted his backup, junior Matt Knizner, to start in '86. One famous insult came in a story in a popular Penn State preseason maga- zine about Knizer in '86 entitled, "The People's Choice." Another slur was a newspaper poll that favored Knizer over Sha;er as the starter, 355-73. But with his coaches and teammates rallying be- hind him and an outstanding "bend but don't break defense" to support him, Sha;er led the '86 Lions through a challenging schedule to upset Miami, 14-10, in the Fiesta Bowl and what is now remembered as one of the classic games ever in college football. Sha;er went on to a prosperous :nancial career on Wall Street and has won back many of his critics with his friendliness and sense of humor. WALLY RICHARDSON (1992, '94-96 – QB) Richardson may be the most unsel:sh starting quarterback in team history. The intelligence that helped him become a two-time Academic All-American combined with a friendly personality and natural skills to make him a strong leader. No one was better in the two- minute drill, and he proved that many times in '95 and '96. Richardson had an auspicious debut when injuries forced Paterno to insert the true freshman into the second game of the '92 season, in which he led the team to a 24-23 victory. But his playing time diminished and he was redshirted in '93. That made him the backup quarterback to All-American Kerry Collins on the great undefeated '94 Big Ten championship squad. Richardson came into his own during his junior and senior years, taking the Lions to consecutive New Year's Day bowl game victories – over Auburn in the '95 Outback Bowl, 43-14, and against Texas, 38-15, in the '96 Fiesta Bowl. Richardson still owns the team record for the lowest interception percentage (2.02) and he remains ninth in career passing yardage records with 4,419 yards. He also threw for 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions on 378 completions in 692 attempts. Af- ter receiving a prestigious $18,000 post- graduate scholarship from the College Football Hall of Fame, Richardson re- turned to Penn State as part of the foot- ball team's Academic Support Center. He is now director of the Football Let- termen's Club. JORDAN LUCAS (2012-14 – CB) A starting cornerback since last sea- son, Lucas will go down in No. 14 history as the :rst player to have his name on the jersey. When Coach Bill O'Brien de- cided the heavily sanctioned 2012 team deserved to have their names on the back of the jerseys, it ended a 125-year tradition of plain, nameless uniforms. Originally in '12, Mike Wallace, a senior cornerback, had jersey No. 14, but an in- jury before the season forced him to the sideline. Lucas, a true freshman, moved up to third team on the depth chart and played mostly on special teams with oc- casional mop-up duty in the secondary. He started in all 12 games in '13 and was so good that he became an honorable mention Big Ten player. With the rest of this season and next still ahead of him, Lucas has the potential to become a :rst team All-American. However, he gave up his No. 14 jersey to Hackenberg last year. Lucas is now wearing No. 9, the same number as All-American defensive back Darren Perry, and a well-known red- headed quarterback, but that is another story. ■

• Cover