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Countdown to College Football Kickoff: Top NFL prospects at Penn State

Simply put, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons is the elite defensive player in college football.

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Countdown to College Football Kickoff: Top NFL prospects at Penn State
Countdown to College Football Kickoff: Top NFL prospects at Penn State /

College football is scheduled to return Saturday, August 29. Each day until then, NFLDraftScout.com will be evaluating the rosters of the best teams in college football, including all 64 within the Power Five conferences.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Head Coach: James Franklin (seventh season)

2019 Record: 11-2

2020 NFL Draft Picks: Yetur Gross-Matos, Carolina Panthers – 2nd Round, No. 38 overall

KJ Hamler, WR, Denver Broncos – 2nd Round, No. 46 overall

John Reid, CB, Houston Texans – 4th Round, No. 141 overall

Cam Brown, OLB, New York Giants – 6th Round, No. 183 overall

Robert Windsor, DT, Indianapolis Colts – 6th Round, No. 193 overall

Overview:

Since taking over at Penn State for current Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien in 2014, James Franklin has guided the Nittany Lions to six consecutive bowl games, rescuing the program from the post-season bans put in place following the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Qualifying for a bowl game is nothing new at Penn State, of course. The legendary Joe Paterno accomplished this feat a staggering 38 times over his 46 seasons leading the Nittany Lions. Under “Joe Pa’s” guidance, Penn State went undefeated five times (1968, 1969, 1973, 1986, 1994) during his nearly half a century at the helm, including being voted No. 1 overall at the conclusion of the season in 1982 and 1986 and No. 2 in 1994 behind Nebraska, which also didn’t have a loss that year.

By comparison, Franklin (and every other head coach in the business) has a long way to go, of course, but consider where Penn State was just a decade ago and where they are now. With the charismatic Franklin sparking a recruiting boon, Penn State has jumped back up among the elite programs in the entire country when it comes to raw talent, generating impressive win totals. Penn State has finished among the AP’s final Top 10 after three of the past four seasons, including last year when the program finished 11-2 and Cotton Bowl champions.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Penn State returns many of its brightest stars, including Butkus Award candidate Micah Parsons to lead a defense which allowed just 16.0 points per game last year (8 in the country), as well as quarterback Sean Clifford, running back Journey Brown and tight end Pat Freiermuth for an offense that lit up scoreboards last year to the tune of 35.8 points per game (15 out of 130 FBS teams).

Parsons and Freiermuth are each future first round picks with the former the best defensive player in college football and NFLDraftScout.com's top-rated NFL prospect for the 2021 draft on that side of the ball. 

Featured 2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Micah Parsons, OLB, 6-3, 245, 4.50, JR

Penn State’s tradition of producing NFL linebackers is as storied as any in college football and Parsons may just be the most athletic of the bunch. Had he been eligible for last year’s draft, Parsons might have jumped Isaiah Simmons – whom Arizona selected 8th overall - as the first linebacker off the board. 

Parsons isn't Simmons. He's better. 

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Parsons lived up to his hype as a celebrated recruit, posting 82 tackles (four for loss, including 1.5 sacks) as freshman and was simply brilliant last season, jumping up to 109 tackles, including 14 for loss and five sacks. He earned consensus All-American honors and was named the Big Ten’s Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, the first true sophomore in conference history to do so.

Parsons possesses the instincts, physicality and closing speed which have helped past Nittany Lions go on to become NFL stars but it is the agility and balance he possesses which really stand out on tape, allowing him to slither around would-be blockers, lasso ball-carriers and punch the ball out, forcing an eye-popping six fumbles in just two seasons.

Strengths: Classically-built linebacker with broad shoulders, thick limbs and a tapered middle. Ease of movement is obvious on tape with Parsons showing Gumby-like core flexibility, the lateral agility and balance of a ballerina, as well stop-start and re-direct explosiveness and terrific straight-line speed. Size, speed and instincts combination projects well to all three traditional linebacker roles, providing his future NFL team with all sorts of positional flexibility. Complements his athleticism with stellar instincts, beating backs to the holes and sniffing out screens and other misdirection plays to rack up tackles behind the line of scrimmage. 

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Dangerous edge rusher, showing terrific initial quickness and bend to dip, duck and deke his way past the bigger, slower blockers. Pairs his upper and lower body beautifully, sliding laterally while forcibly ripping his way through the reach of would-be blockers with his long arms and strong, active hands. Rips through would-be blocks like a tornado, putting on a clinic when it comes to disengaging without sacrificing yardage. Generates knockdown power with only a few steps and uses his long arms to simply engulf ballcarriers, pulling them to the ground for efficient, reliable stops. 

Rips at the ball when he sees opportunity, showing impressive hand-eye coordination, strength and awareness to do so, forcing six fumbles (including four last year) at Penn State. Isn’t asked to drop back into coverage much here but shows comfort and ease of movement when doing so, generating excellent depth on his drops and bounding out of his breaks while keeping track of the ball. Anticipates the routes backs and tight ends are running, shadowing their movements and leaving quarterbacks forced to look elsewhere. Increasing comfort with the ball in the air, knocking down five passes last year (after none in 2018)… Already a blue chip talent and should only improve… No injuries or off-field issues known.

Weaknesses: Picking nits, but Parsons’ aggression can get the better of him as he is occasionally too quick to the hole, abandoning his gap responsibilities in an attempt to make the splashy play near the line of scrimmage and leaving teammates in a lurch when the ballcarrier sneaks through… Some split-second misreads on zone-reads Receives more than his share of blocking attention from opponents and will occasionally throttle down when he sees the ball headed elsewhere… Too valuable as a rusher to be dropped into coverage much here and may need time adjusting if asked to do so more often in the NFL… Just five career PBUs (all in 2019) without an interception in 26 career games…

NFL Player Comparison: Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears (Hall of Fame) – Comparing college prospects to Hall of Famers is not for the faint of heart but there are few linebackers in today’s NFL who possess Parsons’ combination of height, agility, instincts and closing speed. To enjoy anything remotely close to the remarkable career Urlacher (8x Pro-Bowler, 4x All-Pro, twice named Defensive MVP) enjoyed in Chicago (2000-2012), Parsons will have to avoid injuries, of course, but he has the look of a plug and play superstar who will be the face of a franchise before long.

Current NFL Draft Projection: First Round

The Top 10 NFL Prospects at Penn State:

1. Micah Parsons, OLB, 6-2, 245, 4.50, JR

2. Pat Freiermuth, TE, 6-5, 256, 4.70, JR

3. Shaka Toney, OLB/DE, 6-2, 243, 4.70, rSR

4. Michael Menet, C, 6-3, 313, 5.20, rSR

5. Jaquan Brisker, S, 6-1, 210, 4.55, SR

6. Journey Brown, RB, 5-11, 206, 4.45, rJR

7. Jayson Oweh, DE, 6-5, 255, 4.55, rSoph

8. Tariq Castro-Fields, CB, 6-0, 197, 4.50, SR

9. Will Fries, OT, 6-5, 313, 5.15, rSR

10. Lamont Wade, S, 5-09, 199, 4.50, SR

*All 40-yard dash times are estimates

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