VOTING: Best Player Of The JF Era (Abdul & Micah Regions, Round 2)
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The votes are in the first half of the second round:
#1 Saquon Barkley (98.8%) over #9 Sean Clifford (1.2%)
#4 KJ Hamler (64%) over #5 Mike Hull (36%)
#14 Zakee Wheatley (64.1%) over #6 Arnold Ebiketie (35.9%)
#2 Olu Fashanu (75.6%) over #7 Dani Dennis-Sutton (24.4%)
#1 Tyler Warren (99%) over #9 Miles Sanders (1%)
#5 Kaytron Allen (81.2%) over #4 Pat Freiermuth (18.8%)
#6 Chop Robinson (53.9%) over #3 Vega Ioane (46.1%)
#2 Yetur Gross-Matos (61.1%) over #10 Drew Allar (38.9%)
Not too many surprises there. Kaytron over Freiermuth is an upset based on seedings, but the difference between a 4 and a 5 is basically nothing. Chop getting the nod over Vega surprised me, though it’s been a rough go for most offensive linemen during this tournament. And how about Zakee Wheatley getting another upset?! He takes down Austin Johnson in Round 1 and now Arnold Ebiketie in Round 2. Clearly, you all think Wheatley was closer to the 14th best player at Penn State than a 14-seed.
Here’s the bracket as we head into the second part of the second round votes.
To vote for today’s matchups, the Google Form is below.
1/9: Abdul Carter vs. Parker Washington
1. Abdul Carter
I would say Abdul Carter was a stud from his first game at Penn State, but he got ejected on the first play of his debut against which meant we had to wait a wee bit longer to see the absurdity that was Abdul Carter. I mean, what an absolute joy to experience his progression. From a promising freshman linebacker to a devastating junior defensive end, Abdul left no doubts he was a savage. Him playing against Notre Dame with one freaking functioning arm was the stuff of legends.
Parker Washington was a very good football player, and when it comes to the “Remember him game”, he has a lot going for him. One, he was productive for multiple years. Two, Penn State struggled mightily at his position the second he left. Three, our lasting memory of PW3 was his 11-reception, 179-yard performance against Ohio State. And lastly, he’s really performed well in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, as he’s coming off a 58/847/5 breakout season.
4/5: Jaquan Brisker vs. Mike Gesicki
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more complete safety at Penn State than Jaquan Brisker, who earned second-team All-American honors in 2021. The dude just had no weaknesses in his game. He could play the deep parts of the field as a centerfielder, but yet could come up and stop the run like a linebacker. Special player.
5. Mike Gesicki
Who would have thought during the dropsies season of 2015 that we’d be here with Mike Gesicki? Look at us now! Gesicki’s mental strength to get over his drop struggles as a sophomore led him to two banner seasons with the Nittany Lions, earning second-team and first-team honors in 2016 and 2017.
3/6: Trace McSorley vs. Marcus Allen
6. Marcus Allen
Is Marcus Allen the coolest player of the Penn State era? Maybe, but even if not, he was one hell of a football player. He only had one interception which probably outlines his deficiencies as a defensive back, but the 17 TFLs and 5 forced fumbles display a powerful force on the backend of the defense. Plus, I’m not sure there were many other players who loved Penn State as much as Marcus Allen he did. He was originally a Bill O’Brien recruit who stayed loyal when James Franklin took over, and then came back for his senior season when — let’s be honest — I don’t think his draft stock was going to improve much.
I’m trying my best in these blurbs to not let my ~personal~ opinion impact the voting, which means I need to stay quiet about Trace because THIS IS MY GUY. But, I mean, Trace was just freaking awesome, man. I can’t wait until he’s head coach here and Patrick Koerbler Jr. is the staring QB under him <3
2/7: Carl Nassib vs. Nick Singleton
2. Carl Nassib
I mentioned that Tyler Warren’s junior-to-senior jump was unforeseen, but Carl Nassib takes the cake for most ridiculous improvement between seasons maybe ever? I mean, he was a walk-on that didn’t really play that much and then his final season he’s breaking Penn State’s sacks in a season record in what was really 10 games because he got hurt against Northwestern. As poster ckmneon pointed out, had he stayed healthy and played a normal allotment of snaps the last 3 games, he was on pace to have a 20 sack, 26 TFL, and 8 forced fumble season. WHAT?!
One of the more fascinating careers at Penn State. Freshman and junior year, wow, this guy is awesome. Sophomore and senior season, huh, this guy kinda sucks. The bigger picture answer, in my opinion, to Nick Singleton: he was a fantastic football player who gave us some great memories and ran hard every time…even if it was right into a hole that wasn’t there.
1/8: Micah Parsons vs. Amani Oruwariye
We only got two years of Micah Parsons, but what an incredible two years it was. Parsons led the Nittany Lions in total tackles as a true freshman, and then put up a 109-tackle, 5-sack, 14-TFL sophomore season where he earned All-American honors. I know there will be some debate on if Parsons deserves the 1-seed given his limited stay in Happy Valley, but the dude was clearly awesome.
Was there a better interception artist at corner during the Franklin era than Amani Oruwariye? His ball skills allowed him to pick off 7 passes during his final two seasons in Happy Valley, earning second-team All-B1G honors in 2017 and first-team All-B1G honors in 2018. Just, uh, forget about the Felton Davis game.
4/5: Anthony Zettel vs. Joey Porter Jr.
Abdul Carter is the only player from the Franklin era who had more TFLs (39.5) than Anthony Zettel did. Dani Dennis-Sutton (23.5) and Carter (23) are the only players who had more sacks. What’s crazy is that Zettel did a lot of this on the interior at defensive tackle. Just an absolute freak at the 3-Tech. Also, 3 INTs as a DT (Sports Reference has his position wrong for the 2014 season) is bonkers.
Having the longest arms of any corner ever at Penn State, Joey Porter Jr. was a three-year starter at Penn State who was consistently on All-B1G teams — third-team twice and first-team once. While the interception numbers are small, JPJ proved to be as close to a lockdown corner as one can be in the college game. He was named the team’s defensive MVP in the 2022 season, a year in which Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac, and Ji’Ayir Brown starred as well.
3/6: Chris Godwin vs. DaeSean Hamilton
Sometimes I just think to myself how different Penn State would be if you put DaeSean Hamilton on the 2023, 2024, and/or 2025 teams. I know it was the college game, but Hamilton was a professional wide receiver. Not the biggest. Not the fastest. But the dude could get open and (usually) catch the football.
3. Chris Godwin
Chris Godwin is one of three Penn State players to have 1,000+ receiving yards in a season during the Franklin era, with the other two being Tyler Warren (2024) and Jahan Dotson (2021). That’s how good Godwin was, who somehow never made a first-team All-B1G. Crazy!
2/10: Jahan Dotson vs. Adrian Amos
2. Jahan Dotson
If there was a 2-seed that made me question the four 1 seeds, it’s Jahan Dotson. Like really, what was the difference between Tyler Warren’s 2024 season and Jahan Dotson’s 2021 season? One played for a much better team than the other? Because, I don’t know man, but to my eye Dotson was on the same level of dominance that Warren was. Truly a special player. I’m excited to see him potentially match up with Micah Parsons in this region’s finals.
10. Adrian Amos
It’s been 12 years since Adrian Amos played at Penn State, but I’ll be damned if he wasn’t one of the most versatile defensive backs the Nittany Lions have had. Whether it was corner early in his career or safety during the latter half of his career, Amos just made plays and he has quite the NFL career to show for it too.
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