Six Penn State Rookies Make NFL Rosters

Former Penn State receiver Dan Chisena goes from sprinter to Minnesota Vikings specialist.

Six Penn State alumni made NFL rosters as rookies, including one terrific story in Minnesota.

Receiver/specialist Dan Chisena made the Vikings' 53-man roster, completing his transformation from Big Ten track athlete to NFL football player.

“He’s a developmental receiver that they had moved to safety, but they’re finding their way with him positionally,’’ Chisena's agent, Joe Linta, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "They know he can continue to help on special teams and I think they see a pretty big upside on him."

Chisena was among two undrafted free agents from Penn State's 2019 team to make NFL rosters. Punter Blake Gillikin, a four-year starter who amassed more than 10,000 punting yards, made the New Orleans Saints roster.

Four drafted players made their respective rosters: second-round picks Yetur Gross-Matos (Carolina) and KJ Hamler (Denver), fourth-round pick John Reid (Houston) and sixth-round pick Cam Brown (New York Giants).

Robert Windsor, a sixth-round selection of the Indianapolis Colts, was among those who were released this weekend.

Chisena signed as a free agent in Minnesota armed with two strengths: speed and versatility. He was a sprinter at Penn State for three years, running on 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams. In 2017 he ran on Penn State's 1,600 relay team that won a Big Ten outdoor title and placed ninth at the NCAA championships.

At Penn State last year, Chisena played receiver and turned himself into a special teams asset as the team's gunner on the punt coverage team. Chisena made the NFL's radar by catching five passes (two more than he did during the 2019 season) for 155 yards and two touchdowns in the Tropical Bowl, an all-star game for which he was named the MVP.

Chisena has played receiver and safety in Minnesota but likely will make his mark on special teams.

Hamler, whose training camp was shortened because of a hamstring injury, will not start the season on injured reserve, general manager John Elway told the Denver Post.

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