Penn State trio addresses NFL early entrant possibilities
Shareef Miller has made his decision, Connor McGovern will make his decision after the bowl, and Miles Sanders hasn’t thought about it.
Regarding the NFL and Penn State’s underclassman trio having an opportunity to forgo final seasons of eligibility, these were the answers given Friday afternoon at the program’s bowl media day at Beaver Stadium.
Shortly after comments made by Penn State head coach James Franklin indicating the decision-making process for possible NFL early entrants, one in which he said he met individually with those players and their families the Sunday after the team’s regular season-ending home win against Maryland, the players were asked themselves about their decisions and how they might play out.
Let’s take a closer look at what each player had to say about the decision, here:
Of the three to address the NFL, Miller provided the most resolute picture of his decision-making process and where he currently stands.
Having conducted his meeting with Franklin and his family, Miller indicated that he has also discussed his options with defensive line coach Sean Spencer.
“We were just talking about the possibility, if I leave or stay, what's the best thing for me and stuff like that,” said Miller. “So it was a real good meeting.”
So good, in fact, that Miller indicated that he has already made up his mind.
Though not providing a definite answer either way, noting that he has “already handled that situation” and is now focused solely on the game, Miller did say that he would make that decision clear to everyone following the New Year’s Day tilt with Kentucky.
“I'm going to make an announcement after the bowl game,” he said. “But I'm just not focused on that right now. I'm just trying to get ready for this game.”
In the meantime, Miller has wrapped up the classroom requirements necessary for his May graduation from Penn State. Needing only an internship, Miller said that he has not yet decided on how to complete that - likely opting for a role with Big Brothers, Big Sisters, or the Boys and Girls Club - but that he is excited to be done with the classwork portion of his college career.
“It feels great. I ain't going to lie. I feel real great,” he said. “I don't gotta do exams no more, ain't gotta do no homework. None of that.”
Proud of what he was able to do this season, not only specifically with his individual performance on Penn State’s defensive line in making 7.0 sacks and 14.0 tackles for loss, Miller also said he took pride in his development as a team leader.
As such, he offered up a wish list of how he’d be remembered, hypothetically, were he to play his last game with the Nittany Lions in the bowl.
“If it's my last game, I just want Penn State fans to remember me as a guy that gave everything he's got, that was real passionate, loved to win,” said Miller. “And coming where I come from, having that support from Penn State fans and the community and the people, to accept me, that was real great. So I just want them to remember me for that, just being a great person and a great player and a great teammate.”
Asked whether or not he will play in Orlando, Miller answered definitively in the affirmative.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2016/miles-sanders-183Miles Sanders:
Questions were posed to Sanders in every direction, from every possible avenue, but the Nittany Lion junior running back did not take the bait.
“Going back to the draft questions, I haven’t thought about going to the draft or the NFL the whole year. I’ve just been focused on balling and school, so that kind of helped me in my eyes just worrying about balling,” said Sanders. “And it showed on the field. I think I did pretty good this season with my opportunities.”
In his first year as a starter, Sanders finished with 1,223 yards and nine rushing touchdowns on 207 carries. The performance lifted him to fourth among the Big Ten’s rushers this season, behind Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, and only trailing slightly the rushing totals for Michigan’s Karan Higdon and Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim.
For running backs with more than 200 carries this season, Sanders’ 5.9 yards per carry finished second in the Big Ten behind Taylor’s 7.1 yards per touch.
Having met with Franklin and his family regarding his future, as well as having gleaned information from the experience of Saquon Barkley a year ago, Sanders maintained that he felt like he’d accomplished his individual goals for the 2018 season.
“I think I did really good this season, just doing whatever I can to help the team win,” he said.
McGovern, a Remington Watch List candidate before the start of his junior season despite making the switch from center to guard, is also among those players with a decision to make.
Having played in 13 games as a true freshman in 2016 with nine starts, plus another 13 games started as a sophomore, McGovern lined up at right guard and made 12 starts this past season, 11 at right guard and another at center. He also was named third-team All-Big Ten by both the conference coaches and media for his performance, becoming the first Nittany Lion offensive lineman to earn back-to-back nods on postseason all-conference teams since John Urschel in 2012-13.
What that could mean for his future at Penn State, though, McGovern was not yet willing to say.
“Right now, I'm mostly focused on the game. After, I'll make some decisions,” he said, acknowledging the meeting held with Franklin and his family following the Maryland game. “He brought me and my family in, had discussions, updated us on the process. And then, it’s just keeping him updated on everything going on is where we're at.”
At present, that will definitely include playing in the Citrus Bowl, McGovern said.
But, asked about the challenges of juggling finals, bowl practices, and the decision surrounding his future, McGovern said that the past week hasn’t been all that bad.
“It's a little challenging, but I got blessed this year,” he said. “All my finals were done last week, basically, so I got the whole week off just to prepare and work out a little bit extra, so it wasn't as hard.”
Ryan Bates, another multi-year starter for the Nittany Lions on the offensive line with eligibility remaining, was not made available to the media at bowl media day.
