August 21, 2008

Greatest Nittany Lions Of All Time

This squad of Penn State's gridiron greats would surely be unstoppable in any era

Brad Young

MOST POPULAR

The Alltime Nittany Lions Team
Joe Paterno's team-first philosophy has nevertheless produced a plethora of outstanding individual players at Penn State
OFFENSE
QB	KERRY COLLINS	1991-94	Set PSU record for passing yards (2,679) during '94 season.
RB	CURT WARNER	1979-82	Alltime leader in 100-yard games (18) led Lions to first title, in '82.
RB	LENNY MOORE	1953-55	Moore rushed for 1,082 yards and 11 touchdowns in '54.
WR	KENNY JACKSON	1980-83	The Lions' first All-America wideout ('82, '83) had 2,006 career yards.
WR	BOBBY ENGRAM	1991, '93-95	Career leader in catches (167) had a gaudy 18.1 average.
TE	TED KWALICK*	1966-68	"What God had in mind when he made a football player," says JoePa.
OL	STEVE WISNIEWSKI	1985-88	Nasty two-time All-America is now a Christian minister.
OL	MIKE MUNCHAK	1979, '81	Munchak's pass, run dominance gives him the edge over Sean Farrell.
OL	JEFF HARTINGS	1992-95	Swift, strong and smart, Hartings anchored line for '94 team.
OL	KEITH DORNEY*	1975-78	Former center and tight end became All-America at tackle.
OL	GLENN RESSLER*	1962-64	A center and middle guard, Ressler won the Maxwell Award in '64.
DEFENSE
DL	MIKE REID*	1967-69	PSU's only Outland Trophy winner ('69) also won the Maxwell Award.
DL	COURTNEY BROWN	1996-99	Lions' alltime leader in sacks was Big Ten Defensive POY in '99.
DL	BRUCE CLARK	1976-79	Had 20 tackles for loss and won Lombardi Trophy in 1978.
DL	DAVE ROBINSON*	1960-62	Dominant two-way All-America end went on to star with the Packers.
LB	JACK HAM*	1968-70	Work ethic, intelligence made him Paterno's consummate Penn Stater.
LB	SHANE CONLAN	1983-86	The heart of the '86 title team, Conlan had a team-high 79 tackles.
LB	PAUL POSLUSZNY	2003-06	2005 Butkus Award winner finished career with 372 total tackles.
LB	LAVAR ARRINGTON	1997-99	Unmatched athleticism gives him the edge over Dennis Onkotz.
DB	DARREN PERRY	1988-91	Three TDs on INT returns ties Onkotz for most in PSU history.
DB	MARK ROBINSON	1980-83	All-America capped '82 season with two INTs in national title game.
DB	NEAL SMITH	1967-69	Former walk-on became career interceptions leader (19).
SPECIAL TEAMS
K	MATT BAHR	1976-78	All-America set NCAA record with 81.5% field goal average in '78.
P	RALPH GIACOMARRO	1979-82	Holds PSU records for season (43.6) and game (54.8) punting avg.
KR-PR	LENNY MOORE	1953-55	Moore is only player in top 10 in both punt and kick return average.
COACH	JOE PATERNO*	1966-	After 372 wins in 42 years in Happy Valley, could it be anyone else?
*Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame

KERRY COLLINS
QB
CAREER: 1991-94
HIGHLIGHTS: 5,304 yards passing, 39 touchdowns

When Collins set a PSU record with 14 straight completions in the '94 opener, it was only the beginning of a remarkable run. Leading one of the best offenses in college football history—the Lions averaged 47.8 points and 520.2 yards a game—Collins set State season records for completions (176) and passing yards (2,679).

COURTNEY BROWN
DL
CAREER: 1996-99
HIGHLIGHTS: 33 career sacks, 70 career tackles for loss

"He hits you, and it looks like a minor car accident," LaVar Arrington once said of his former teammate. The three-time All-Big Ten performer owns the school marks for career sacks and tackles for loss. He was the No. 1 pick of the 2000 NFL draft.

JACK HAM
LB
CAREER: 1968-70
HIGHLIGHTS: 251 tackles, 4 blocked punts

The Nittany Lion legend landed at PSU only because high school teammate Steve Smear persuaded Paterno to give Ham the last available scholarship for the '67 class. He became an All-America and a seven-time All-Pro with the Steelers and is the only Lion in both the college and pro football halls of fame.

MIKE REID
DL
CAREER: 1967-69
HIGHLIGHTS: Won Maxwell and Outland trophies in '69

How's this for versatile? The Lions were 22-0 in his final two seasons at Penn State. Reid also broke the school's shot put record three times and played the lead in a campus production of Guys and Dolls. After five outstanding NFL seasons, he began a career in music that led to a songwriting Grammy in '84.

BOBBY ENGRAM
WR
CAREER: 1991, '93-95
HIGHLIGHTS: 167 career receptions, 3,026 career receiving yards

A week before Engram's first game in his freshman year at Penn State, his father, Simon, was killed in a car accident. But his career would've made Dad proud, as Engram became the only receiver in school history with multiple 1,000-yard seasons and the owner of every major PSU career receiving record.

TOP OF STORY

SI VAULT HOME

	ARTICLES	GALLERIES	VIDEO	COVERS
College Football	16980	294		91
Big Ten Conference	2968	74		69
Joe Paterno	291	4		2
Penn State Nittany Lions	262	13		6
Lenny Moore	14	0		0

GALLERIES

College Football (294)

COVERS

College Football (91)