Penn State Football: Lions littering NFL secondaries
Over the last two seasons, Penn State football has landed all five of its NFL-bound secondary players on professional rosters.
Penn State football’s recent success not only put the Nittany Lions back into the college football spotlight but the NFL spotlight as well. The result is a high rate of players landing on rosters and staying there. The secondary benefitted the most from the recent NFL boon, sending five defensive backs to the league.
Safety Malik Golden started the run in the 2017 NFL Draft. After a productive senior season that saw him rack up 75 total tackles, the undrafted strong safety signed on with the Pittsburgh Steelers after a brief post-draft stint with San Francisco and has remained there for the last two years.
After Golden proved he could make an NFL roster, PSU had almost its entire defensive backfield enter the draft in 2018. Four seniors moved onto the league. Three players were drafted and one was signed as an undrafted free agent.
Starting with the drafted players, safeties Troy Apke and Marcus Allen were selected by the Washington Redskins (4th round) and Steelers (5th round) respectively. They headlined a defense while at Penn State that held passing offenses to less than one passing touchdown a game. They weren’t flashy in terms of unreal interceptions numbers, but they blanketed receivers.
Both didn’t get many chances to make plays this year. Apke recorded one tackle before suffering a season-ending injury, while Allen was active for just a handful of games, notching three tackles. They’re still highly invested in prospects and will get more opportunities in the future.
Fellow DBs and senior cornerbacks Christian Campbell (6th round) and Grant Haley (undrafted) also made rosters this year. Campbell was cut by the Arizona Cardinals after they drafted him but found a home in New Orleans.
Haley was the most slept-on prospect, as he didn’t get selected. However, he was signed by the New York Giants after the draft and saw plenty of in-game reps, making 33 tackles and two pass deflections.
Next. Penn State Football Recruiting: National Signing Day 2019 tracker. dark
Although all five players have had different experiences and paths in the NFL, they’re giving Penn State football a solid name in the league. They continue to work hard and push to make roster spots.