Penn State consistently churns out the best of the best pass rushers for the NFL Draft.
Penn State has spent the better part of the last 20 years trying to remain relevant in the Big Ten. They have been in danger of letting their status slip away compared to teams such as Ohio State and Michigan.
However, there is one thing that those two teams can't do that Penn State can.
Since the modern draft era began, no other team has produced more edge rushers than Penn State. The Nittany Lions have had nine such players drafted, while Ohio State, USC, and North Carolina have eight, and Florida State rounds out the top-5 with seven.
The headliner here was the first-round selection of Micah Parsons to Dallas. This was the blockbuster draft that the Cowboys needed, and Parsons wanted to put him on the map nationally. Now, after just four short seasons with Dallas, the Cowboys traded him off to the Packers.
The Cowboys were shedding cap space while the Packers were chasing a Super Bowl. It was a win-win trade until Parsons tore his ACL late last season.
Now, for the Nittany Lions as a whole, they have had some incredible players walk through their doors. Guys by the names of Mike Reid, who was the seventh overall selection in 1970, 10 years later Bruce Clark was drafted, Courtney Brown at pick No. 1 in 2000, Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Haynes were nearly back-to-back picks in 2002, and Aaron Maybin.
This is not the complete list, but all before 2010.
It is an impressive list of players who are absolutely game changers at the next level.
For new Penn State head coach Matt Campbell, it is his job to reignite this for this program. Not only is he tasked with winning, but to do that, he needs to re-establish the dominant defensive line, which they built the foundation of their program.
The days of the dominant Penn State pass rushers are now few and far between. When the program is really moving in the right direction, the pass rush is a main catalyst as to why.
Win football games and get guys to the pros. Those are the two items that need to be on Matt Campbell's mind at all times. If he accomplishes the former, the latter will take care of itself.
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