How Penn State Football is having recruiting success despite on-field woes

NFL Success

Penn State Football garnered plenty of attention last Spring when it had two first-round picks in the NFL draft in Micah Parsons and Odafe Oweh.

Meanwhile, tight end Pat Freiermuth went No. 55 overall to the Steelers and then three Nittany Lions; Shaka Toney, Michal Menet, and Will Fries were drafted all in a row in the seventh round.

Parsons stole the show during the regular season, as the Dallas Cowboy recorded 13 sacks and won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in addition to being a first-team All-Pro selection.

Oweh had a productive first season as a rotational piece for the Ravens, recording five sacks and three forced fumbles. Freiermuth became a go-to target for future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger, catching 60 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns.

Older former Nittany Lions have also been in the spotlight recently. Last year, Chris Godwin, Donovan Smith and A.Q. Shipley won the Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. This year, Grant Haley and Nick Scott were members of the Rams Super Bowl team.

Kicker Robbie Gould also made rounds on social media for his game-winning field goal against the Packers in the Divisional Round and later for videos that surfaced of him doing his pre-game warm-ups in the middle of the opposing team’s introductions.

Although he’s struggled with injuries the past two years, Saquon Barkley is still one of the faces of the NFL and one of the more marketable players in the league.

The Nittany Lions are bound to make more headlines next month as three former players, Jahan Dotson, Arnold Ebiketie, and Jaquan Brisker, all have the potential to be drafted in the first round of this year’s NFL draft.

The ultimate goal for every high school recruit is to eventually be drafted and star in the NFL.

Over the past couple of years, not many schools have received more attention in the NFL than Penn State. Recruits see this, and if they don’t, Penn State’s staff makes sure they do.