Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/450893
There had been rumblings and rumors, bits of speculation. And on Dec. 29, two days after he helped lead Penn State to a 31-30 overtime victory over Boston Col- lege in the Pinstripe Bowl, Donovan Smith made it official: He was passing up his final season of college eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. In opting to forgo his senior year, Smith said he accomplished what he set out to do after coming to Penn State in 2011 from Owings Mills (Md.) High, where he had been among the most sought-after offensive line prospects in the country. "It seems like it was yesterday that I was sitting at the kitchen table talking with the greatest college football coach in history, Joseph Vincent Paterno. I promised him and my family that I would get my degree," Smith said in a prepared statement announcing his de- cision. "After achieving one of my life goals of receiving a degree from the Pennsylvania State University, I feel it's time to continue the pursuit of my dream of becoming a NFL player. The past four years have been a physical and emotional roller coaster but have ulti- mately made me a better man." Smith was the first of three Penn State juniors to declare themselves eligible for the draft. One day later, he was joined by defensive end Deion Barnes, and on Jan. 5, tight end Jesse James announced that he, too, was leaving. The departures will force Penn State to find new starters at two positions where they lack depth and experience: defen- sive end and offensive tackle. With Barnes leaving and senior C.J. Olaniyan having exhausted his eligibility, the Nit- tany Lions don't have any defensive ends on their roster with starting expe- rience. And at offensive tackle, the team will likely have to call on juco transfer Paris Palmer or possibly a redshirt freshman to step up. The team is much deeper at tight end, with Kyle Carter, Adam Breneman, Mike Gesicki and Brent Wilkerson returning, so James' departure is a bit easier for Penn State to absorb. Smith, who received his degree in criminology last month, had the sec- ond-most career starts of anyone on the Nittany Lions' 2014 team with 31. He missed two games as a junior with a leg injury he received late in Penn State's overtime loss to Ohio State, but he re- Three Nittany Lions leave for NFL Smith, Barnes and James elect to forgo their senior seasons F O O T B A L L HUG IT OUT Smith and of- fensive line coach Herb Hand celebrate PSU's win over Boston College. Photo by Cameron Hart