This isn’t the NFL … Penn State Football still has plenty to play for
By Nick Kreiser
NFL Auditions for veteran Penn State Football players
Despite having another underwhelming season, Penn State Football still has plenty of guys who could be playing on Sundays next fall, especially on the defensive side of the football.
Defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, linebackers Ellis Brooks and Brandon Smith, and defensive backs Jaquan Brisker, Tariq Castro-Fields, and Joey Porter Jr all have a great chance of getting drafted this coming April.
They all have a chance to make themselves a lot of money over the final month of the season if they play well.
Other defensive players, such as Jesse Luketa and Ji’Ayir Brown could get drafted this spring, but could also benefit greatly from one more season in blue and white. This last month of the season could be a deciding factor as to whether or not players like them return for a final season, or test the NFL Draft waters this spring.
Offensively, Jahan Dotson is obviously going to be a very high draft pick, and this final month could decide if he is one of the top wide receivers off the board where he would go early to mid-first round, or maybe later in the first round or early second round.
Another name on the offensive side is Sean Clifford. Regardless of what some fans think about Clifford, he will get drafted this offseason if he enters the NFL draft, even if it’s not until the late rounds. After all, Christian Hackenberg was drafted in the 2nd round in 2016 despite very sporadic play in his final two seasons in college.
Clifford has been inconsistent, but at his best has looked very good. If he can show a lot of that good (and very little of the bad) in the final 4-5 games of the season, he could get drafted in the middle to late rounds of the draft this offseason.
There are also a few offensive linemen who will have a chance as professionals, Rasheed Walker primarily.
How is all of this good for the program?
The more players drafted with ‘Penn State’ next to their name, the better. It is also great for the individual players who have put so much time into this program and deserve a shot of their childhood dreams of playing in the NFL.