Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era
By Brad Weiss
Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era
. Offensive Lineman. Nittany Lions . Connor McGovern. 10. player. 806
We kick off our top-10 players during the James Franklin Era the same way we kicked off the entire series, turning our attention to the offensive line.
In the seven years that Franklin has been at the helm, there has been no better offensive lineman than Connor McGovern, one of the more versatile players we have seen up front for the Nittany Lions in a long time.
McGovern started as a true freshman for Franklin at right guard but would be moved to center as a sophomore, as he was always a player to put the team first. As a junior, he would start most of his games at right guard, but started one at center, and won the Dick Maginnis Memorial Award, given to the best offensive lineman on the team. It was well deserved, as he dominated opponents throughout his career in Happy Valley.
All told, McGovern started 35 of the 39 games he played under Franklin and helped pave the way for stars like Miles Sanders and Saquon Barkley in the run game. An outstanding run blocker, McGovern declared early for the NFL Draft, and was selected in the third round by the Dallas Cowboys, and has since put together a solid NFL career as well.