Penn State Football Pro Day Preview
On Friday morning, Penn State will be their annual pro day as NFL scouts will flock to Happy Valley to watch Penn State's draft-eligible prospects take part in various drills and workouts in hopes of increasing their draft stock.
13 Nittany Lions will be taking part in the Pro Day tomorrow including; punter Barney Amor, safety Ji'Ayir Brown, quarterback Sean Clifford, defensive tackle PJ Mustipher, kicker Jake Pinegar, cornerback Joey Porter Jr, center Juice Scruggs, long snapper Chris Stoll, tight end Brenton Strange, safety/linebacker Jonathan Sutherland, defensive end Nick Tarburton, and wide receivers Mitchell Tinsley and Parker Washington.
Out of those 13, seven will have the opportunity to test in front of the scouts again after performing at the NFL combine. Those players are; Ji'Ayir Brown, PJ Mustipher, Joey Porter Jr., Juice Scruggs, Brenton Strange, Mitchell Tinsley, and Parker Washington.
Barney Amor: The former Colgate punter stepped into Penn State's starting punter role this season and was one of the best in the Big Ten, averaging 44.3 yards per punt over 54 total punts.
Ji'Ayir Brown: At the combine, Brown ran a 4.65 forty-yard dash including a 1.56 10-yard split. He also had a 32.5" vertical jump, a 9-foot-1 broad jump, and 18 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds. NFL.com's Next Gen Stats rank him as the second-best combine safety despite his sub-par performance athletically mostly thanks to him being the No.1 ranked safety when it comes to products available in this year's draft. For his career at Penn State, Brown had 153 total tackles, nine tackles for a loss, and 4.5 sacks. He also had 10 interceptions including one returned for a touchdown, nine pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.
Sean Clifford: Penn State's all-time passing leader was not invited to the NFL Combine which makes Friday's pro day all the more important for the Cincinnati (OH) native. For his career, Clifford completed 833-of-1356 passing attempts for 10,661 yards and 86 touchdowns alongside 31 interceptions. He also had over 1,000 yards on the ground in his career with an additional 15 touchdowns.
PJ Mustipher: Mustipher had a tough combine performance, running a 5.41 forty-yard dash while recording a 3-cone drill of 8.01 and a 20-yard shuttle of 5.03. He also put up 19 reps on the bench press. He's one of the Nittany Lions with most on the line in Friday's Pro Day. He recorded 144 tackles over his Penn State career including 10.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks.
Jake Pinegar: The Ankeny (IA) native had a few ups and downs throughout his Penn State career but overall made 49-of-67 field goal attempts over his five years with the Nittany Lions.
Joey Porter Jr: Porter Jr. tested well at the combine with a 4.46 forty-yard dash, a 35-inch vertical jump, and a broad jump of 10 feet 9 inches. During his time with the Nittany Lions, the NFL legacy became one of the country's top cornerbacks including recording 17 pass deflections over his four seasons.
Juice Scruggs: For a center, Scruggs had a quality NFL combine performance in February including a 1.79 10-yard split, a 32-inch vertical jump, a 4.82 20-yard shuttle, and 29 reps on the bench press. Scruggs's career at Penn State got off to a tough spot after a serious back injury in a car accident as a freshman put his career in some question. He would, however, come back from the injury and eventually be a two-year starter, anchoring Penn State's offensive line each of the last two years.
Chris Stoll: Stoll over his career was one of the best long snappers in the country and was named the 2022 Patrick Manelly Award winner, given out annually to college football's best long snapper.
Brenton Strange: Strange got to experience being the guy at tight end for Penn State for a portion of 2023 but for the most part shared the spotlight in his career, therefore the production for the West Virginia native wasn't eye-opening. In four seasons he had 70 receptions for 755 yards and one touchdown. That being said, he had a very good day at the combine last month with a 4.7 forty-yard dash, a 36-inch vertical jump, and 10-foot, 4-inch board jump. He also put up 23 reps on the bench press. His combine performance certainly raised his draft stock, he'll try to raise it even more on Friday.
Jonathan Sutherland: The Ontario (CN) native played both safety and linebacker during his five years with the Nittany Lions, recording 136 tackles including eight tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had five pass deflections and one interception.
Nick Tarburton: Tarburton will get his chance to show off in front of scouts on Friday after not being named to the combine. The Pennsylvania native is coming off back-to-back quality seasons for the Nittany Lions with 53 career tackles including 10 tackles for a loss and three sacks in 29 games.
Mitchell Tinsley: Tinsley had a decent but not great day at the combine last month recording a 4.6 forty-yard dash, a 35.5-inch vertical jump, and a 4.20 20-yard shuttle. The former Western Kentucky standout was a strong receiver for the Nittany Lions in 2022, recording 51 receptions for 577 yards and five touchdowns.
Parker Washington: The fan-favorite Washington did not test at this year's NFL combine outside the bench press due to the season-ending foot injury he suffered in November. It's unclear where Washington is in his recovery and how much he'll do on Friday. The Texas native was highly productive during his Penn State career with 146 receptions for 1,920 yards and 12 touchdowns in 32 games over three seasons.
Stay tuned here at Nittany Nation throughout Saturday for all the latest from Penn State's 2023 junior day.
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