Penn State football flashback: Rashard Casey’s brief, highlight-filled career

Keeping in trend with the flashbacks, Rashard Casey made highlight plays with Penn State football. The Nittany Lions enjoyed some fun success in his stint.

I’ve looked back at a few Penn State football quarterbacks over the last couple weeks. Their careers and experiences in Happy Valley have all differed. But, one that has a rarely told story is Rashard Casey’s. The dual threat quarterback played for the Nittany Lions from 1997-2000 after a highly-successful high school career at Hoboken . The highlight of his career came in a 24-0 Alamo Bowl win in the 1999 season, earning MVP honors.

Throughout that season, Casey and starting quarterback Kevin Thompson efficiently guided the offense to a 10-3 campaign. Casey came in as a change-of-pace quarterback, giving the Lions another playmaker on the field. His speed kept defenses honest when he dropped back in the pocket.

Overall, he didn’t light up the stat book in the pre-spread era, but he made an impact, completing 59-of-94 passes for 856 yards, six touchdowns against three interceptions. His bigger production came in the ground attack, rushing for 290 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns.

His exhilarating debut in front of Penn State’s fans helped earn him the starting job for the 2000 campaign. He ducked, dodged and weaved his way past defenders, making eye-popping runs and throws for the Lions (Video Courtesy of vslice02).

Just before his starting career could get off the ground in 2000, he nearly saw it derailed. In May of the same year, he had a run in with an off-duty Hoboken police officer that resulted in his arrest for aggravated assault.

The charges were later dropped and the incident was eventually wrapped up in a six-figure settlement in favor of Casey three years later, but it tarnished his reputation at the time.

Casey kept his nose clean the rest of the season, and with the backing of his head coach, returned to the field. The year didn’t yield the winning success many had hoped. Penn State finished 5-7, missing a bowl game for first time in 12 years.

With that said, he did put up a solid season while adding a fun element as a runner. He wasn’t as productive as Michael Robinson, Daryll Clark and Trace McSorley, but he made plays on the ground. Overall, he threw for 2001 yards, 14 touchdowns against just eight interceptions while rushing for 315 yards and five touchdowns.

He struggled out of the gate against a tough schedule. He found a way to put up a decent season down the stretch in what turned out to be a lost year for the Nittany Lions. A lot of people forget his contributions to the program, because most view him as a up-and-down player in a rough time for Penn State football. His off-field issues didn’t help.

However after his name was cleared, he deserves a mentions in Penn State football lore.