PART 2 – Now that the Joe Paterno era of Penn State football has officially ended I wanted to have some fun and come up with my All Time Joe Paterno Penn State football team. There was actually a lot of thought that went in to this. I did a good bit of statistical research, used my long memory of Penn State football games and seasons gone bye and of course a lot of my opinion. I also tried to base my picks on their Penn State career and not their NFL career which leaves a few NFL Hall of Famers off the 1^st Team. Please feel free to leave your comments. All positions can easily be disputed since there have been many great players to come through Happy Valley. I’ve even taken the liberty to add a few extra players because I couldn’t split the hair on who to pick. It was tough enough as it was. Part 1, I will pick the Offensive Line (5) and TE (1). Part 2, I will pick the WR (3) and QB (1). Part 3 I will pick the RB (3) and it was tough. Part 4 the DL (4), and DB’s (4) and Part 5 I will pick the LB’s (4), it was impossible and I may still change my mind at the last second, the kicker (1) and punter (1).  I’ve added a 2^nd Team and an Honorable Mention list.

LET THE ARGUMENTS BEGIN!!!!

I selected 3 WIDE RECEIVERS for my 1^st Team and here they are:

Bobby Engram – 1^st Team All American (94).  Engram was the winner of the first ever Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in the country. Engram is only PSU receiver with over 3000 yards in a career and 1000 yards in a season, which he did twice. He is also tops with 16 career 100 yard games and led the team in receiving 3 years in a row. He was a 1^st round draft pick of the Chicago Bears and played in the NFL from 1995-2010. He was a recipient of the NFL Ed Block Courage Award.

Deon Butler – Butler is the all time leader in receptions in PSU history with 179. Although he never caught more than 48 balls in a season he was consistent in each of his 4 years catching 37, 48, 47 and 47 in those years. Deon holds the record for most receiving yards in a single game with 216. Butler was a 3^rd round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks.

OJ McDuffie – 1^st Team All American (92). McDuffie only had 2 big years at PSU but were they big! He caught 46 balls for 790 yards as a junior and 63 for 977 yards as a senior. McDuffie was a 1^st round draft choice of the Miami Dolphins. He played in the NFL from 1993-2001. He was the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award.

2^nd Team:

Jordan Norwood – Like Butler, Norwood was consistent throughout his career and finished with 158 receptions for 2015 yards. He ranks 4^th all-time in receptions and 3^rd in receiving yardage for his career. Jordan is presently a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Kenny Jackson – 2 Time All American (82 & 83). 1^st round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles. Jackson earns this spot based on his 25 TD’s since he is 8^th on the all time receptions list. His stats are almost identical to Bryant Johnson except Johnson only caught 10 TD’s. That was the tie-breaker. Derrick Williams had far more receptions than Jackson but had fewer yards and less TD’s.

Honorable Mention:

Gregg Garrity, Joe Jurevicious, Scott Fitzkee, Bryant Johnson, Derrick Williams, Freddie Scott, Jack Curry, Ethan Kilmer

I have to give a special mention to Kilmer who started his career at Shippensburg, transferred to PSU and ended up playing in the NFL. He was picked in the 7^th round by the Cincinnati Bengals and played 3 years in the NFL

QUARTERBACK:

1^st Team

Kerry Collins – 1^st Team All American (94). The leader of the most prolific offensive team in PSU history. He won the Maxwell, O’Brien and Baugh Awards as well as College QB of the Year while leading the Nittany Lions to a 12-0 record and a Rose Bowl victory. For his career he is ranked #5 in passing yardage, # 7 in completions. He threw 39 TD’s and 21 interceptions. He is tied with Zach Mills as the all-time leader in 200+ yard passing games with 16. He was a 1^st round pick of the Carolina Panthers and played in the NFL from 1995 to the present. He has made 2 Pro Bowls.

2^nd Team:

Chuck Fusina – Winner of the 1978 Maxwell Award. A great QB that led the 78 team to the Sugar Bowl and a chance at the National Championship. Fusina threw for 5382 yards in his career and is ranked #4 in that category. He threw 37 TD’s and 32 interceptions. He was a 5^th round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played professionally from 1978-1986.

Honorable Mention:

Todd Balckledge – I wanted to put Blackledge on the 2^nd Team but couldn’t. He is the career leader in interceptions thrown with 41 to go along with his 41 TD’s. He did lead the team to a National Championship which gets a lot of points with me.

Daryl l Clark – Big Ten Most Valuable Player. Clark threw for 5742 yards which ranks #3 all time. Daryll is the only PSU QB to pass for over 3000 yards in a season. He is the career leader in both TD’s thrown in a career and in a season. He completed 444 passes which is also 3rd. He threw 43 TD’s and 16 interceptions. Clark’s statistics should have put him on the 2^nd Team but offenses are pass happy now compared to when Fusina played.

Zack Mills – Mills is the all time leader in passing yards, 7212, and completions, 606, in PSU history and a 4 year starter. Unfortunately those years were not great successes for the teams he quarterbacked. He is tied with Kerry Collins as the all-time leader in 200+ yard passing games with 16. He threw 41 TD’s and 39 interceptions. Zach holds the single game passing mark with 399 yards.

Tony Sacca – Sacca was also a 4 year starter that got pushed in to duty as a freshman due to injuries. He is #2 on the all time passing yardage list with 5869 yards. Like Mills his teams were not highly successful. Sacca finished his career throwing 41 TD’s and 24 interceptions.

John Shaffer – 2 year starter in 85 & 86. As a starter he lost only 1 game to Oklahoma for the National Championship. He came back in 86 and led PSU to the National Championship and a Fiesta Bowl win over Miami.

Chuck Burkhart – 2 year starter in 68 & 69. He led both of those teams to undefeated seasons.

John Hufnagel – All American (73). 2 year starter that converted from DB. He led the 73 team, along with John Cappelletti, to an undefeated season

Michael Robinson – Robinson makes the list strictly on his leadership skills and taking the team to the Orange Bowl and beating Florida State.