Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era
The No. 8 player on our list is a linebacker who played four seasons for the Nittany Lions, starting 36 of 43 games played, and becoming as dominant a backer Franklin has ever had. In fact, when all was said and done for Jason Cabinda, his 286 tackles ranked ninth in school history, making him one of the more productive defensive players the program has ever seen.
Cabinda burst onto the scene in 2015, Franklin’s second year in Happy Valley, racking up 98 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks. The following season, he was named third-team All-Big Ten and would finish out his career in 2017 as a second-team All-Big Ten selection as well. During his career in Happy Valley, Cabinda had at least 80 tackles in three straight seasons and had double digits and tackles on nine occasions.
The winner of the Captain’s Award his last season with the team, he was a leader for Franklin‘s defense across multiple seasons and was actually named a second-team All-American by SB nation his final season with the Nittany Lions. Cabinda would go on to be an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders, but it was his dominance inside Beaver Stadium that makes him a top-10 player for Franklin all-time.