But first, I'd like to start today's post by wishing a very happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! Hopefully your families did something special for you to demonstrate just how much they appreciate everything you've done for them. Enjoy your day!
Now, let's get back to the Draft. We'll start with a quick run-down of where all the former Nittany Lions ended up:
- Allen Robinson (WR) was taken with the 29th pick in the 2nd round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Robinson will join Paul Posluszny, Matt Stankiewitch, and Nate Stupar to make up possibly the most impressive Penn State contingent on any current NFL roster.
- Da'Quan Jones (DT) was taken with the 12th pick in the 4th round by the Tennessee Titans. The Titans recently let go Head Coach Mike Munchak (now with the Steelers) who was an offensive linemen for Penn State from 1978-81. There are no other Penn State connections within the organization.
- John Urschel (OG) was taken with the 35th pick in the 5th round by the Baltimore Ravens. He'll join center A.Q. Shipley on the offensive line.
- Glenn Carson (LB) was unfortunately not drafted, but did sign on with the Arizona Cardinals as an unsigned free agent. He'll join former WR turned TE Brett Brackett out in the desert.
- Garry Gilliam (OL) also went undrafted but signed on with the reigning Superbowl Champion Seattle Seahawks, where he'll join DT Jordan Hill.
- The only other player I could see possibly getting signed in the offseason is Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, simply because of his versatility. He's a hard hitting defensive player that proved this past season that he can effectively switch between Safety and Linebacker. Definitely keep an eye out for him.
- Also taken in the Draft were 2 former Nittany Lions who transferred to other schools in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. So in other words, they still count towards our draft total! RB Silas Redd will join the player he backed up while at PSU, Evan Royster, on the Washington Redskins, while LB Khairi Fort will join a New Orleans Saints roster that currently features no Penn State players.
Overall, it wasn't the best or the worst draft for Penn State. At least 3 players made the cut, unlike the University of Texas, who had their first Draft "goose egg" since 1937! I guess the eyes of Texas weren't upon them this weekend. In comparison, 8 Alabama players were taken, including 2 in the 1st round!
Now, I don't exactly follow the NFL all that closely, so I can't be entirely sure who filled their needs the best, but just based on what I saw over the past 3 days, here are my winners and losers:
Winner - The Jacksonville Jaguars. Not only am I happy that they added Allen Robinson to a team that already includes one of my favorite Penn State players of all time (Posluszny), but they built an epic pro-style offense with this Draft. First, they grabbed QB Blake Bortles from UCF with the 3rd overall pick. I believe Bortles is the best pro QB in this year's Draft and the Jags other selections really set him up for success. In addition to Robinson they picked up another talented WR in the 2nd round with Marqise Lee out of USC. Then they added RB Storm Johnson, also from UCF (and therefore already familiar with Bortles) to enhance the running game. The Jaguars finished up the weekend with 2 offensive lineman to protect Bortles, and 1 player at each level of the defense. #Winning
Loser - The Cleveland Browns. First of all, I never liked Johnny Manziel and I think the Browns were extremely stupid to take him in the first round. But the even stupider move was refusing to take a WR in what was arguably the greatest WR draft of all time. So now you have a high risk QB with no one to throw to? Are you kidding me?! #Fail
Finally, in recruiting news, the Lions picked up their 16th commitment right in the middle of all the Draft craziness when 3-star DB Ayron Monroe out of the D.C. area decided to take his talents to State College. Don't let that 3-star rating fool you, his list of offers was rather impressive. Franklin steals yet another recruit out of Maryland's backyard. Sorry Terps.
Well, that will do it for today's Draft special. Be sure to keep it here on the blog all offseason for the latest news and notes on all things Penn State football. Make sure you get those questions to PSUOptimus@gmail.com by Tuesday afternoon and maybe I'll ask James Franklin when I see him on the Coaches Caravan. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!
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