Penn State Football: ranking the best offensive players of the James Franklin era

Honorable Mentions

Trace McSorley (quarterback, 2014-2018)

It is really tough to leave ‘The Wizard’ off this list, especially since he holds the program record in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and completions, but there are so many other superstars that have recently come through the program.

Trace McSorley was voted second team All-Big Ten in all three years he spent as the Nittany Lions’ starting quarterback, and was also the MVP of the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game.

Most notably, McSorley is the winningest quarterback in Penn State Football history, going 31-9 as the starting quarterback of the Nittany Lions.

Mike Gesicki (tight end, 2014-2017)

Mike Gesicki is one of the best tight ends in Penn State Football history, catching 129 passes for 1,481 yards and 15 scores in his career.

Gesicki did not break out until his junior year though, and also struggled as a blocker at times, both of which kept him out of the exclusive top five, but he was still phenomenal, nonetheless.

He was a two-time all-conference selection and went on to become a second-round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins.

Connor McGovern (offensive lineman, 2016-2018)

Although there (unfortunately) haven’t been many great offensive linemen under James Franklin, Connor McGovern was certainly one of them, and he was the best of the bunch.

McGovern did something that does not happen often for offensive linemen in college football: he started as a true freshman. Not only that, but he was effective in doing so, and did it for a Big Ten Championship team.

Also in that 2016 season, he won Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance against Iowa, which made him only the third offensive lineman in conference history to receive that honor, according to his Penn State bio.

He was also voted third team All-Big Ten in 2018, and went on to become a third round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys.

Connor McGovern displayed excellent versatility throughout his Penn State Football career – playing well at both guard and center – and he was the anchor of the offensive line for the best offenses in the James Franklin era.

Donovan Smith (offensive tackle, 2011-2014)

Donovan Smith was a late addition to this honorable mention list, primarily due to the fact that he played just one year under James Franklin, but it was tough to let him go unmentioned, as he is the best offensive tackle the Nittany Lions have had in quite some time.

Plus, while he did not receive any accolades such as an all-conference selection, he became a second-round NFL Draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: the highest a Penn State offensive lineman has been selected in the draft since Levi Brown went fifth overall in 2007.

Journey Brown (running back, 2017-2021)

Another late addition to the honorable mentions – primarily due to the ‘what could have been’ factor surrounding his career – is Journey Brown.

The Meadville native did not see the field much in his first two seasons, and understandably so, due to being behind Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders. In 2019, Brown got his shot, and he didn’t miss it.

He didn’t have an overwhelmingly impressive start to the season, but in the final five games of the year, he rushed for 593 yards at a 7.7 yards per carry clip, as well as nine touchdowns. That five-game stretch had fans anticipating him being one of the best backs in the country in 2020, but he unfortunately was forced to medically retire from the game.

Had Journey Brown been able to replicate that stretch across an entire 12+ game season, he would have certainly been an all-conference selection and a high draft pick, and maybe even threatened the single season rushing touchdown mark of 26 (though it is unlikely he would have come close to Larry Johnson’s 2,000-yard season).