Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

Creating The Penn State Dream Team – Offense Edition

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

facebooktwitterreddit

Hello and welcome to the “Penn State Dream Team”, in this series we will create the best possible college football team by using all Penn State players from 1940 to present times. Today we’ll be focusing just on the offense starting with our quarterback and working our way to the offensive line. Let’s get started!

Quarterback: Kerry Collins (1991-94)

Kerry Collins is the best quarterback ever to wear the blue and white. The Pennsylvania native was part of some of the best teams in Penn State history including the 1994 undefeated team that finished second in the country and was robbed of a National Championship. Collins for his career completed 370 passes out of 657 attempts while throwing for 5,304 yards and 39 touchdowns while throwing only 21 interceptions. While his numbers aren’t the best in Penn State history, Collins was the leader of the 1994 team in a season where he completed 66 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,679 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.  Backup: Christian Hackenberg (2013-????)

Running back: Larry Johnson (1999-02)

Larry Johnson wasn’t just the best running back in Penn State history, Larry Johnson was one of the best players in Penn State history. While Johnson’s first three seasons were nothing spectacular it was Johnson’s senior season that put him in the record books as one of the best to ever come through Happy Valley. After rushing for just 886 yards and four touchdowns over his first three career seasons, Johnson broke out in his senior season breaking the 2,000 yard mark in 2002 on 271 rushing attempts. Johnson finished his senior season with 2,087 yards and three touchdowns. Backup: Curt Warner (1979-1982)

Running back: John Cappelletti (1972-73)

“The best football player I’ve ever coached”

As the quote states, Joe Paterno once said about Cappelletti that he was “the best football player I’ve ever coached” and Cappelletti certainty played like it during his two season with Penn State. In his two seasons for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions, Cappelletti rushed for 2,639 yards and 29 touchdowns on 519 career rushing attempts. He is mostly known for being the only Penn State player to ever win the Heisman Trophy as he won it in 1973 after rushing for 1,522 yards and 17 touchdowns while leading Penn State to a 12-0 record. He also ran for 200+ yards in three consecutive games during the 1973 season.

Backup:

Ki-Jana Carter (1992-1994)

Wide Receiver: Bobby Engram (1991-94)

Engram is another player from the legendary 1994 team to make this “All-Penn State Fantasy Team”. In his four seasons in Happy Valley, Engram had 167 career receptions for 3,026 yards and 31 touchdowns. He is the only Penn State wide receiver to have over 3,000 career receiving yards and the only wide receiver with more than 25 career receiving touchdowns. While he only had 11 career rushing attempts, Engram was also a threat when he had the ball in the backfield as he rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown on those 11 career attempts. Engram is widely considered one of the best if not the best Penn State wide receiver of all-time. With 32 career touchdown and 3,000 career receiving yards, there’s no way Bobby Engram wasn’t going to make this list. Backup: Joe Jurevicius

More from Penn State Football

Wide Receiver: O.J McDuffie (1988-92)

A consensus All-American in 1992, McDuffie had a tremendous five-year career at Penn State that ended with his All-American season in ’92. Over his five-year career, McDuffie has 125 career receptions for 1,988 yards and 16 touchdowns. In 1992, McDuffie had career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns as he made 63 receptions for 977 yards and nine touchdowns. McDuffie was also a highly versatile player as he had 33 career rushing attempts for 330 yards and one touchdown. While his numbers may not stand out, McDuffie will go down as one of the most talented wide receivers in the history of Penn State football. Backup: Bryant Johnson (1999-2002)

Tight End: Ted Kwalick (1966-68)

Kwalick was a consensus All-American in 1968 while also finishing fourth in Heisman voting in the same year. Considered one of the best Penn State tight ends of all-time, Kwalick was a force for the 1968 Penn State team that went 11-0 and finished second in the AP Poll. That season, Kwalick had 31 receptions for 403 yards and two touchdowns, he also rushed for 96 yards on 14 attempts in 1968.The next closest receiver or tight end to Kwalick in 1968 was Leon Angevine who had 17 receptions for 226 yards. Backup: Kyle Brady (1991-94)

Tackle: Levi Brown (2002-06)

Finding offensive tackles was tricky, Levi Brown however fits the mold of what one should look for in an offensive tackle. After making the transition from the defensive line, Brown was able to become a two-time All-Big Ten offensive tackle while also collecting All-American accolades in 2005 and 2006 even with an inexperienced offensive line around him. Backup: John Urschel (2009-13)

More from Victory Bell Rings

Guard: Steve Wisniewski (1985-88)

Widely considered the best offensive lineman in Penn State history, Wisniewski or just “The Wiz” for short was a vital part of the Penn State 1986 National Championship team. Wisniewski was also a two time All-American during his career at Penn State. Backup: Stefan Wisniewski (2008-10)

Center: Glenn Ressler (1962-64)

Ressler was a two-way lineman for Penn State in the early 60s and was great on both sides of the ball for the Nittany Lions. Ressler’s biggest claim to fame is being the 1964 Maxwell Award winner being considered the best college football player in the country as well as being a consensus All-American. Backup: A.Q Shipley (2005-08)

Guard: Mike Munchak (1978-81)

Munchak had a great career at Penn State but it was his time in the NFL that made him a GREAT player. During his time at Penn State, Munchak was a starter in 1979 and 1981 and was a vital part of the Penn State offense in those two seasons. In his senior season (1981), Munchak was acknowledged as a second-team All-American due to his spectacular senior season. Munchak would later go onto have an NFL career worthy of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Backup: Jeff Hartings (1992-95)

Tackle: Keith Dorney (1975-78)

During his time at Penn State, Dorney embodied everything Joe Paterno looked for in a player. Success in all facets of life, on and off the field. During his career at Penn State, Dorney was a terrific player on the field while being a tremendous student as well in the classroom. In his 1978 senior season, Dorney was a consensus first-team All-American while also being selected as an Academic All-American as well. Backup: Steve Suhey (1944-1947)

There you go folks, the offense for the Penn State Dream Team is set! What do you think? Would you make any changes? If so, comment below and give us your opinion! Check back Tuesday to find out who will make the defensive squad for the Penn State Dream Team!

Home/Penn State Football