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Thorpe family epitomizes PSU's legacy recruit tradition T his started out as a column that was solely about the history of Penn State's legacy recruits and the origi- nation of the succinct terms that refer primarily to sons who have followed their fathers to play football for the Nit- tany Lions. And then I talked to Chris Thorpe. Even if you're a longtime Penn State football fan, as I am, you may not re- member Chris Thorpe. I didn't. Al- though I may have heard or seen his name back in the mid-1980s when he played for Joe Paterno, it had been erased from the crevices of my mind in the decades that followed. But in early February, his name came up in connection with Penn State's 2017 recruiting class. He is the father of one of James Franklin's prized recruits, four- star offensive lineman C. J. Thorpe. Rivals.com and others noted that C.J. was a legacy recruit and that his father had been on the Penn State teams of 1985- 88. Having seen nearly all of Penn State's home and away games during those seasons, I was perplexed. My first reaction was that Thorpe may have been one of those unsung walk- ons who never played in a game, or maybe he saw just enough action on special teams to earn a letter. I knew that Paterno sometimes gave letters to such walk-ons and other players in par- ticular circumstances, so I went to my shelf of Penn State media guides dating to the mid -1960s, and, sure enough, there was Thorpe, listed as a letterwin- ner in 1988. I did further research in the 1985-89 media guides, combing through my paper files on those seasons to learn more about him. Then I called him on the telephone. I now see Chris and C.J. Thorpe as the epit- ome of Penn State's legacy recruit con- cept and tradition. A storied past First, a little of that history. Although the word "legacy" was not paired with the word "recruit" at Penn State until about 10 years ago, I have traced this tradition back to 1924. I first wrote about my research for a magazine in 2008 and subsequently have updated the history. To this day, I have not found any legacy recruit earlier than Earl Hewitt Jr., a reserve on the freshman team in 1924 who was not on scholarship and earned a varsity letter in his senior year of 1927 as a backup at right halfback. His father, Earl Hewitt Sr., was a flashy run- ning back and punt returner on Penn State's teams of the late 1890s. He is most famous to historians for his win- ning 65-yard punt return for a touch- down that beat Army, 6-0, at West Point in the first game between the two teams. The rules were different in that era, and Earl Sr. was a starter throughout his five seasons of eligibility and captain of the 1901 squad that posted the team's best record (5-3) in seven years. He later played two years of pro football with Connie Mack's team in Philadelphia. Earl Jr. may have been a mediocre FAMILY PORTRAIT Chris and Nikki Thorpe pose with their family. From left to right: daughter Christin, grandson Ozzie and sons Niko and C.J. Photo courtesy of Thorpe family

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