Penn State Football: Former Nittany Lions making NFL headlines

Several former Penn State football players have made recent NFL headlines

With the NFL free agency period getting started, there’s been plenty of news cycling around the league. Now is the time of year when players sign extensions, switch teams, or leave the league altogether. Three former stars at Penn State are among the recent news stories from around the NFL.

Former Penn State wide receiver Allen Robinson, perhaps best known for his jumping catch in the 2013 upset of Michigan, will be joining his second NFL team. Robinson played three seasons at the collegiate level and finished his Penn State career with 2,479 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns.

Drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Robinson ended up playing four seasons with the Jags. His best season to date was 2015, when he put up 1,400 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

Robinson played just one game this past season after suffering a knee injury in the first game of the year. He was waived by Jacksonville this offseason and will play the next chapter of his NFL career as a member of the Chicago Bears.

Another former great at Penn State will be leaving the only NFL team he’s ever been on. It was announced on March 12 that the Kansas City Chiefs would be releasing all-pro defensive lineman Tamba Hali. The veteran defender was drafted No. 20 overall by the chiefs in the 206 draft.

Hali finished his career in Kansas City with 89.5 sacks, good enough for second all-time in team history behind the great Derrick Thomas.

Finally, a great Penn State linebacker has announced his retirement from professional football. Paul Posluszny is calling it quits after 11 successful seasons in the NFL. He was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He spent five seasons in Buffalo before moving to Jacksonville for his final six seasons.

While at Penn State, Posluszny was a two-time consensus All-American and a two-time All-Big Ten. He also won the Chuck Bednarik Award twice in 2005 and 2006 and the Dick Butkis Award in 2005.

In his retirement letter to the Jaguars Posluszny made several references to his time at Penn State and how it shaped his career.

"“I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the Pennsylvania State University, and the entire Nittany Lion family. Playing football for the legendary Coach Joe Paterno provided me with a priceless education and wonderful memories. I formed lasting friendships with my college roommates; played with outstanding men like Sean Lee, Dan Connor, Tim Shaw and Michael Robinson; practiced the game of football with elite coaches like Tom Bradley and Ron Vanderlinden; and most importantly, learned that just being a football player was never going to be good enough.”"

The entirety of Posluszny’s letter can be read here.

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Penn State football certainly has a storied history of great players. Robinson, Hali and Posluszny are just three in a long line of players who have enjoyed success both in Happy Valley and in the National Football League.