Friday, March 29, 2024
Home » News » Local & Penn State Sports » Three Nittany Lions Listed on 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Three Nittany Lions Listed on 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Three Penn State football lettermen — LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny, and Steve Wisniewski — could be on their way to Atlanta.

The trio is listed on the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame ballot that was released Wednesday morning.

Posluszny played four seasons at Penn State and established himself as one of the best linebackers in program history. He totaled 372 tackles with the Nittany Lions, was a two-time consensus All-American, and won the Chuck Bednarik twice, which is given annually to the best defensive player in college football.

Following his Penn State career, Posluszny was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. He played 11 years in the NFL and was named to one Pro Bowl.

Arrington, like Posluszny, is one of the greatest linebackers in Penn State history. The Pennsylvania native played with the Nittany Lions from 1997 to 1999, earning an influx of honors in the process. To name a few, he was the Big Ten’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 1998, was a two-time first-team All-American, and won the Butkus, Bednarik, and Lambert Awards in 1999.

He was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2000 and went on to play seven years in the NFL. Arrington was a three-time Pro Bowler, as well as a two-time second-team All-Pro selection.

Playing at Penn State from 1985 to 1988, Wisniewski helped lead the Nittany Lions to their 1986 national championship victory. The offensive lineman was a two-time first-team All-American while in Happy Valley. Wisniewski followed up his Penn State career with 13 seasons in the NFL where he became an eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro.

While it’s Posluszny and Arrington’s first year on the ballot, Wisniewski is no stranger, as he’s been on the ballot every year since 2010.

To this point, 19 Penn State football lettermen have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the most recent being Kerry Collins in 2018. Additionally, the Nittany Lions have had five coaches enshrined in Atlanta.

Glenn Killinger is one of those 19 players already in the Hall of Fame but he’s on the ballot again, this time as a divisional coach. Killinger, a quarterback in his playing days, was initially inducted back in 1971.

The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 will be announced “in early 2022,” and the class will be officially inducted at the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 6, 2022.