It’s an exclusive Blue and White club, bigger than you might expect:
There’s Ki-Jana and Blair. Curt and Curtis.
L.J. and D.J.
Cappy and Franco.
Wait… there’s Moore…and Moore — both Lenny and Booker.
And now, Saquon.
When Saquon Barkley is selected among the first few picks of Thursday night’s NFL Draft at Jerry Jones’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, he’ll be the 11th Nittany Lion running back picked in the first round.
Ki-Jana Carter heads that list. In fact, Carter was the last college running back to be the overall No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. That was 23 years ago, in 1995. Carter and defensive end Courtney Brown (1980, Cleveland Browns) are Penn State’s only No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft to date.
Carter ran for 1,539 yards — a 7.8-yard average — and scored 23 TDs for 12-0 Penn State in 1994. He was picked No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1995.
Since then, the list of No. 1’s has gone like this: 14 quarterbacks, four defensive ends, three offensive tackles and one wide receiver. And no running backs…a string that even No. 26, touted by most as the top player in 2018 draft, is unlikely to break.
Penn State has been on a bit of a dry run at No. 1, actually.
Barkley will be the first Nittany Lion selected in the first round of the draft since Jared Odrick in 2010. In three seasons, Barkley finished as Penn State’s No. 2 career rusher, with 671 carries for 3,843 yards, 89 yards behind all-time leader Evan Royster, and had 102 receptions for 1,195 yards. He scored 53 touchdowns, including two on kickoff returns, and also threw a TD pass.
Overall, in the history of the draft dating back to 1940, a total of 36 Penn Staters have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft (no Penn Stater was selected in the opening round by the AFL).
Fittingly, a Nittany Lion running back was the first-ever Penn Stater selected in the first round, in 1956 when Lenny Moore was the No. 1 choice of the Baltimore Colts, who picked ninth overall.
A RUN OF NO. 1’S
Three other Nittany Lion running back greats were nearly overall No. 1 selections in the NFL Draft.
Blair Thomas was the top pick of the New York Jets and No. 2 overall in 1990. Curt Warner was the first pick of the Seattle Seahawks and No. 3 overall in the 1983 draft. And Curtis Enis was the top pick of the Chicago Bears and No. 5 overall in the 1998 draft. Like Barkley, both Carter and Enis entered the draft with one year of college eligibility remaining.
Injuries plagued the professional careers of Warner, Carter, Thomas and Enis. Warner fared the best after getting injured. After a rookie NFL season where he led the AFC in rushing yards (1,449) in 1983, Warner tore his ACL in the 1984 season opener. But he came back to rush for 985 yards or more four times, earning All-Pro, Pro Bowl and Offensive Player of the Year honors post-injury.
In the NFL, Warner finished with 1,698 carries for 6,844 yards and 56 rushing touchdowns. Thomas carried 533 times for 2,236, with 41 TDs; Enis had 456 carries for 1,497 yards and four TDs; and Carter had 319 carries for 1,144 yards and 20 TDs.
Penn State’s most prolific rusher in the NFL, by far, was Franco Harris. Harris was selected in the first round with the 13th pick overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1972 draft. He had 2,949 carries for 12,120 yards (14th in NFL history) and 91 TDs. Harris also had 307 catches — including one Immaculate Reception — for 2,287 additional yards and nine touchdowns.
PENN STATE & THE FIRST ROUND
Over the past 14 years (2004-2017), Penn State has had only four players drafted in the first round of the draft — Odrick, Tamba Hali, Aaron Maybin and Levi Brown. In the 11 years before that (1993-2003), Penn State had 13 players picked in the first round.
In the history of the NFL Draft, 10 Penn State running backs have been picked in the first round, more than any other position — including linebacker (4). Defensive line (8) and offensive line (6) rank next for PSU first-round selections.
Linebacker U still reigns in total draft numbers. All-time, more Nittany Lion linebackers have been selected in the NFL Draft — 67 in all — than any other position. Running backs are No. 2, at 33, followed by offensive tackles (32), guards (32), defensive backs (29), wide receivers (23) and defensive tackles (21).
Here’s the complete breakdown:
RUNNING BACK (10)
Lenny Moore, 1st round/9th pick, Baltimore Colts, 1956
Franco Harris, 1st round/13th pick, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972
John Cappelletti, 1st round/11th pick, Los Angeles Rams, 1974
Booker Moore, 1st round/28th pick, Buffalo Bills, 1981
Curt Warner, 1st round/3rd pick, Seattle Seahawks, 1983
D.J. Dozier, 1st round/14th pick, Minnesota Vikings, 1987
Blair Thomas, 1st round/2nd pick, New York Jets, 1990
Ki-Jana Carter, 1st round/1st pick, Cincinnati Bengals, 1995
Curtis Enis, 1st round/5th pick, Chicago Bears, 1998
Larry Johnson, 1st round/27th pick, Kansas City Chiefs, 2003
DEFENSIVE LINE (8)
Mike Reid, DT, 1st round/7th pick, Cincinnati Bengals, 1970
Bruce Clark, DT, 1st round/4th pick, Green Bay Packers, 1980
Courtney Brown, DE, 1st round/1st pick, Cleveland Browns, 2000
Jimmy Kennedy, DT, 1st round/12th pick, St. Louis Rams, 2003
Michael Haynes, DE, 1st round/14th pick, Chicago Bears, 2003
Tamba Hali, DE, 1st round/20th pick, Kansas City Chiefs, 2006
Aaron Maybin, DE, 1st round/11th pick, Buffalo Bills
Jared Odrick, DE, 1st round/28th pick, Miami Dolphins
OFFENSIVE LINE (6)
Keith Dorney, OT, 1st round/10th pick, Detroit Lions, 1979
Mike Munchak, OG, 1st round/8th pick, Houston Oilers, 1982
Sean Farrell, OG, 1st round/17th pick, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1982
Jeff Hartings, OG, 1st round/23rd pick, Detroit Lions, 1996
Andre Johnson, OT, 1st round/30th pick, Washington Redskins, 1996
Levi Brown, OT, 1st round/5th pick, Arizona Cardinals, 2007
LINEBACKER (4)
Dave Robinson, 1st round/14th pick, Green Bay Packers, 1963
Ed O’Neil, 1st round/8th pick, Detroit Lions, 1974
Shane Conlan, 1st round/8th pick, Buffalo Bills, 1987
LaVar Arrington, 1st round/2nd pick, Washington Redskins, 2000
QUARTERBACK (3)
Richie Lucas, 1st round/4th pick, Washington Redskins, 1960
Todd Blackledge, 1st round/7th pick, Kansas City Chiefs, 1983
Kerry Collins, 1st round/5th pick, Carolina Panthers, 1995
WIDE RECEIVER (3)
Kenny Jackson, 1st round/4th pick, Philadelphia Eagles, 1984
O.J. McDuffie, 1st round/25th pick, Miami Dolphins, 1993
Bryant Johnson, 1st round/17th pick, Arizona Cardinals, 2003
TIGHT END (2)
Ted Kwalick, 1st round/7th pick, San Francisco 49ers, 1969
Kyle Brady, 1st round/9th pick, New York Jets, 1995
