ESPN "College GameDay" announced its guest picker for Saturday's show on Old Main Lawn in Happy Valley. The show will air from 9 a.m. to noon ET and former Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington will join Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, and Kirk Herbstreit.
LaVar Arrington is ready for the White Out, ARE YOU?!
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 25, 2025
Pumped to have the Penn State Hall of Fame linebacker as our guest picker on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/aqiMwkKxra
LaVar Arrington chosen as celebrity guest picker for ESPN "College GameDay" for Penn State v. Oregon
Arrington played for the Nittany Lions from 1997-99 and earned a first-team All-American honor in 1998 and a unanimous All-American selection in 1999. He finished his collegiate career with 173 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, and three interceptions. Ahead of the 2000 NFL Draft when he was chosen No. 2 overall, Arrington won the Chuck Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, and Jack Lambert Award.
He soon became one of the greatest players in Washington's NFL franchise over six seasons (2000-05), and earned two Second Team All-Pro selections and made three Pro Bowls. With his first NFL team, he recorded 395 tackles, 22.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries, and three interceptions.
In his abbreviated, single season with the New York Giants after signing a seven-year deal with the team, he had 16 tackles and one sack over six games. Due to an Achilles injury midseason, he was sidelined for the remainder of 2006. In June 2007, he was in a motorcycle accident which prompted Arrington to announce his retirement from the NFL.
Since then, Arrington went into media. He started on Washington's pregame and postgame team before starting a career in radio and joining the NFL Network in 2014. The Penn State product also contributes to FS1 and FOX Sports Radio.
Currently, Arrington's son, LaVar Arrington II, is a freshman at Penn State. Arrington II chose his father's alma mater over Oregon, Tennessee, and UCLA.
On Saturday, Arrington will join a list of guest pickers with ties to the Nittany Lions, like Keegan-Michael Key, Saquon Barkley, and Trace McSorley, and make his predictions on select games for the day. This is the 26th time "College GameDay" came to town for a game that involved Penn State and the 11th time that the university hosts the show. Last season, ESPN chose the Nittany Lions for their game against Ohio State, which they eventually lost by seven points.
Following "College GameDay," No. 3 Penn State will face No. 6 Oregon at 7:30 p.m. ET. The first major test of the Nittany Lions' season will give insight as to which team is a serious national title contender and start painting the blue and white's playoff picture.