PART 4– 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 have selected 4 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN on my 1^st Team. I actually found this to be the easiest group to pick. Here you go:

Courtney Brown – 1^st Team All American (‘99). Courtney won the Nagurski, Bednarik and Lombardi Awards as well as being named Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year. He ranks #1 in career sacks with 33 and career tackles for loss with 70. He was unblockable. Brown was the 1^st selection in the 2000 draft by the Cleveland Browns. He played in the NFL from 2000-2006.

Bruce Clark – 2-Time 1^st Team All American (‘78 &’79) Bruce was the first junior to win the Lombardi Award as the top defensive lineman in the country. He finished 8^th in career sacks with 19 and 4^th in career tackles for losses. Clark was drafted in the 1^st round of the NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers but never played for them. He played in the CFL, NFL and WFL from 1980-1991.

Mike Reid – 1^st Team All American (‘69). Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Reid won the Outland Trophy and Maxwell Trophy in 1969. Mike holds the PSU record of recording 3 safeties in a game, season and career. He received the Walter Camp “Alumnus of the Year” award in 1987. In 1995, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. Reid was a 1^st round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals. He played in the NFL from 1970-74. He played in 2 Pro Bowls.

Devon Still – 1^st Team All American (‘11). Still just completed his Penn State career by making every 1^st team All American team and being selected Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year.

2^nd Team:

Matt Millen –1^st Team All American (‘79). Millen played on the same defensive line as Bruce Clark. Matt ranks #5 in career sacks with 22. Millen was drafted in the 2^st round of the NFL draft by the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders. He was a linebacker in the NFL. He played in the NFL from 1980-1991. Matt was named All Pro 2 times and won 4 Super Bowl rings as a player.

Larry Kubin – Larry made sacks fashionable before they were as a defensive end. He recorded 30 in his PSU career second to Courtney Brown. Kubin was a 6^st round draft pick of the Washington Redskins. He played in the NFL from 1981-1985. He earned 2 Super Bowl rings.

Steve Smear – 2^nd Team All American (‘68). Smear teamed with Mike Reid on the D-Line helping make up the first of the great PSU defenses of the Paterno era. Steve was drafted in the 4^th round by the Baltimore Colts but played instead in the CFL from 1970-75.

Randy Crowder – 1^st Team All American (’73). Crowder anchored the defensive line for the undefeated team. He was a 6^th round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins and played in the NFL from 1974-1980.

Honorable Mention:

Mike Hartenstein, Walker Lee Ashley, Tamba Hali, Tim Johnson, Randy Sidler, Lou Benfatti, Anthony Adams, Jimmy Kennedy, Aaron Maybin, Bob White,  Brad Scioli, Jared Odrick, Justin Kurpeikis, Michael Haynes, Jay Alford

I have selected 4 DEFENSIVE BACKS on my 1^st Team. Here they are:

Neil Smith – 1^st Team All American (’69). Neil still holds the PSU record for career interceptions with 19. He shares the single season interception record along with Pete Harris.

Pete Harris – 1^st Team All American (’78). Pete shares the single season interception record with Neil Smith.

Mark Robinson – 1^st Team All American (’82). Mark was the leader of a strong group of DB’s that won the 1982 National Championship and Sugar Bowl. He was a 4^th round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs. He played in the NFL from 1984-1993.

Darren Perry – 1^st Team All American (’91). Perry’s 299 interception return yards and three interceptions for touchdowns are school records. He was an 8^th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers and played in the NFL from 1992-2000. He was selected All Pro in 1994.

2^nd TEAM:

Ray Isom – An anchor of the ’86 defensive back field that won the National Championship and beat up the Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl. Isom, as the free safety, led the hitting.

Bryan Scott – Three-year starter at Penn State, playing in all 48 career games, and finished his career with 202 tackles, five interceptions. He was a 2^nd round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2003. He is still playing in the NFL.

Mike Zordich – 1^st Team All American (‘85). A 4 year letterman at PSU who finished his career with 201 tackles. Mike was known for his toughness and hard hitting. He was drafted in the 9^th round by the San Diego Chargers. He never played for them but played for the Jets, Cardinals and Eagles from 1987-1998.

Kim Herring – 1^st Team All American (’96). Kim was a 2^nd round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. He played in the NFL from 1997-2005. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Harry Hamilton, Tony Pittman, Shawn Mayer, Alan Zemaitis, Paul Lankford, Leonard Humphries, Shelly Hammonds, David Macklin, James Boyd, Bhawoh Jue, Calvin Lowry, Justin King, Anthony Scirrotto