Who are Penn State’s top 10 offensive, defensive players of the James Franklin era?
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10 years of James Franklin
Penn State football coach James Franklin is 10 years into his career with the Nittany Lions, and we’re looking back at the top games, players and moments over that period.
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James Franklin has been leading Penn State football for a decade, with defenses that have led the way in those 10 years. We’ve already ranked the top 10 wins and the top 10 offensive players — with that list included below — and now we head to our final top 10.
Let’s take a look at our top 10 defensive players of the Franklin era.
1. LB Micah Parsons
It doesn’t feel like there’s much argument for who No. 1 is, even though he only spent two years with the program. Micah Parsons was dominant from the second level for Penn State, even though he wasn’t always utilized in a way that maximized his talents. Parsons was an elite pass rusher and was set to have an all-time season in 2020 before opting out. Still, he was all over the field for the Nittany Lions and finished his sophomore season with 109 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, five sacks, five passes defended and four forced fumbles. That, and he had the same type of off-field impact that Saquon Barkley did on offense.
“Micah Parsons, in a lot of ways has done for us what Saquon did on offense in terms of making Penn State sexy to recruits from all over the country, and specifically from the state of Pennsylvania,” Franklin told the Centre Daily Times. “You look at our hit rate of the players from Pennsylvania, the big time players in Pennsylvania that have stayed home, (they’re) some pretty good examples.”
2. S Ji’Ayir Brown
This spot came down to two safeties who played together under Franklin, but ultimately goes to the one who had more ball production in his career. Ji’Ayir Brown started his career at Lackawanna College before transferring to Penn State, but once he joined the Nittany Lions his ability was evident. He finished the 2021 season tied for first in the Football Bowl Subdivision with six interceptions before adding another four in 2022. While the interception production dropped slightly in that final year, he showed off the versatility that made him elite, earning seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown.
3. S Jaquan Brisker
The other Lackawanna product that could easily be No. 2 on this list was a much different type of safety than Brown. Jaquan Brisker was a heavy hitter who made plays in the running game, intimidated receivers but also quickly diagnosed what was happening in front of him to make an impact against the pass. He finished his Nittany Lion career with 14 passes defended, 10 tackles for loss and five interceptions, and helped establish the team’s defense as one of the best in the country by the time he left.
4. CB Joey Porter Jr.
The defensive back run continues with the best corner of the Franklin era. Joey Porter Jr. joined the program as a corner with such a big frame that it looked like he may eventually move to safety. Instead, he became a high-level corner who was so feared by opponents in his final season that teams didn’t even look his way when throwing the ball. He finished his career with 20 passes defended, 11 of which came in his final season in 2022. Porter may not have had the interception production you’d expect from an elite corner with only one in his career, but he still made an enormous impact, largely because he was able to consistently take receivers out of the game completely.
5. DE Carl Nassib
A former walk-on cracking the top five says more about just how good Carl Nassib was than anything else. Nassib played well enough to get put on scholarship by former head coach Bill O’Brien but eventually broke out under Franklin. Nassib didn’t just crack the starting lineup in his big year — he broke out as one of the best players on the team. The former walk-on earned the program’s single season sack record with 15.5, adding six forced fumbles and an interception for good measure. Nassib didn’t have the multi-year impact of others on this list, but his best season was one of the best the program has ever seen.
6. DE Yetur Gross-Matos
Nassib had the best year of any defensive end under Franklin, but Yetur Gross-Matos contributed more sacks in his entire career. Gross-Matos was an elite defensive end in his final two years with the program, totaling 17.5 sacks across 2018 and 2019 with 9.5 coming in the final year. He wasn’t just excellent as a pass rusher either, racking up 37 tackles for loss in his career to go with his 19 total sacks. Gross-Matos was the second-best player on the 2019 defense behind Parsons and allowed the linebacker to flourish behind him with his play as a defensive end.
7. LB Brandon Bell
There are a surprisingly low number of linebackers on this list given the program’s history at the position, but Brandon Bell is an easy call to make it. Bell was one of the team’s leaders during the 2016 season — when the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten title. He had 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions in only 10 games that year. Bell ultimately finished his career with 224 tackles, 11.5 sacks and four interceptions, playing as one of the most complete linebackers of the Franklin era.
8. DE Adisa Isaac
Another defensive end cracks the top 10 thanks to a strong all-around career that resulted in 31.5 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. Adisa Isaac was the best defensive end on the 2023 team, a group that also featured first round pick Chop Robinson. Isaac was effective as a pass rusher but his ability to defend the run, and hold up blockers for the linebackers to make plays when necessary, is what made him a complete player for the Nittany Lions. His numbers may not be as prolific as some, but the fact that he was an all-conference level player in 2022 and 2023 after tearing his Achilles in 2021 only adds to the story of Isaac’s career.
9. CB John Reid
There are a couple members of the 2016 team to close out the list. John Reid was the team’s top corner in the early years of Franklin’s tenure and managed to recover from a knee injury in the middle of his career to have one of the best all-around careers of any Nittany Lion defender of the last decade. Reid was one of the most intelligent defensive players of that time, making plays in the back end thanks to his ability to know what’s coming before it happens. Reid’s seven interceptions and 30 passes defended over his career, with over half of each coming in the two years following his 2017 injury, are indicative of how effective he was.
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10. S Marcus Allen
This last spot could go to a few players. Franklin mentioned Mike Hull and how he helped the program transition from O’Brien to the new regime. There’s Shaka Toney, who consistently contributed as an edge rusher with over 20 career sacks, and Grant Haley, who was an effective corner who scored a touchdown on the biggest play of the decade.
But the last spot will go to the player who started that play. Marcus Allen blocked the kick in 2016 against Ohio State that Haley eventually scooped and scored on, but his career was defined by much more than that. Allen played safety like a linebacker, seeking out contact and laying down big hits whenever he could. He did that so well that he finished with 321 career tackles and 17 tackles for loss. While his limitations against the pass keep him from being higher on the list, that doesn’t take away from what he accomplished as a run defender and his importance to the 2016 season.
Top 10 offensive players
1. RB Saquon Barkley
There is a pretty clear top two at the top of this list, and Saquon Barkley is a step above No. 2. Barkley is the most talented player of the Franklin era and has the production to match it. He’s the school’s second all-time leading rusher with 3,843 yards, despite only spending three years at Penn State, and was the focal point of the two best offenses the program has had in the last decade — 2016 and 2017. While this is about the best players of the decade, Barkley’s impact also went beyond the field, and so did that of the next player on the list.
“It’s hard not to think of that time with Saquon and Trace (McSorley),” Franklin told the Centre Daily Times. “Both of those guys together, it’s hard to break them up because they were here together and I think both were so impactful for different reasons. I think Saquon really made Penn State sexy again.”
2. QB Trace McSorley
If Barkley is a clear No. 1 then Trace McSorley is a clear No. 2. The best quarterback of the Franklin era, McSorley was vital to the Big Ten Championship the Nittany Lions won in 2016, and proved to be a great fit with then-offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead during the two years he was coaching at Penn State. The signal caller was a true dual-threat who had a knack for getting the ball to his playmakers, while having enough belief in them to make plays on the ball when necessary down the field. Beyond that, the way he became a college star was the platonic ideal for some.
“Trace was just a story that everybody fell in love with,” Franklin told the CDT. “The quarterback that wasn’t highly recruited, ends up coming here and he’s undersized and he’s this and he’s that. Then everybody falls in love with him.”
3. WR Chris Godwin
Third on this list came down to three players, but the nod goes to Chris Godwin, who is arguably the best wide receiver of the era. Godwin finished his career top 10 in school history in receiving yards and receptions, and top five in receiving touchdowns. But most importantly, he had his best year in Franklin’s best year. He was the leading receiver on the 2016 team, finishing with 59 catches for 982 yards and 11 touchdowns, and was clearly McSorley’s favorite target.
4. WR Jahan Dotson
If Godwin isn’t the best receiver of the era, then Jahan Dotson is. Dotson shined bright in two difficult seasons for the Nittany Lions, accumulating 2,066 receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns in 2020 and 2021, his final two years on campus. He has the second most receptions in school history, and is top five in both receiving yards (2,757) and receiving touchdowns (25). His 242-yard performance against Maryland in 2021 also set the program record for receiving yards in a single game. And it helps that in his final two games against Ohio State, Dotson caught 19 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns.
5. OT Olu Fashanu
Only one offensive lineman made this list, but it’s a good one. Olu Fashanu isn’t just the best left tackle of the Franklin era, he’s clearly one of the best linemen to ever play for Penn State. Fashanu was excellent in pass protection for the Nittany Lions, frequently stonewalling edge rushers in front of him, while being a large positive in the running game too. It’s also worth noting that he came back for an extra year after he was already projected as a first round pick and contributed a second full season as an elite left tackle.
6. TE Mike Gesicki
This spot came down to the two best tight ends of the decade, with Mike Gesicki getting a nod because he was an elite receiving threat and a major part of the best team of the era. Gesicki had two seasons with over 500 receiving yards, including 679 yards on the 2016 team, and was an elite threat in the red zone for the Nittany Lions. His nine touchdowns as a senior also set the program record receiving touchdowns in a season.
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7. TE Pat Freiermuth
While Gesicki has the record for touchdowns by a tight end in a season, Pat Freiermuth owns it for a career. The former Nittany Lion was a security blanket for Sean Clifford when he was at Penn State, totaling 16 receiving touchdowns — 15 of which came in his first two seasons. Freiermuth’s career totals were hampered by an injury that limited him to four games in his final season, but his blocking ability helps put him in the conversation with Gesicki, even if it doesn’t put him over the top.
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8. WR K.J. Hamler
Another wide receiver makes the list and this time it’s one of the fastest to ever play for Franklin. K.J. Hamler didn’t have the size of a prototypical No. 1 option, but he made up for it with his speed and ability to make defenders miss in the open field. He only played for two seasons after redshirting in his first year, but he produced at a high level during both. He had at least 750 yards and five touchdowns in both seasons and finished with 98 receptions as he quickly became the top target in the offense in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
9. WR DaeSean Hamilton
While Godwin gets the most notoriety among the early Franklin-era receivers, DaeSean Hamilton was the most productive. He’s first all-time at Penn State in receptions (214), second all-time in receiving yards (2,842) and tied for fifth in receiving touchdowns (18) and did so while producing on the best team of the era in 2016. Some will remember the drop issues Hamilton had as a Nittany Lion, but it’s also worth noting that he bounced back from those struggles to break the receptions record and put together arguably his best season in 2017 when he was the No. 1 receiver on the team with 857 yards and nine touchdowns.
10. QB Sean Clifford
The final spot in the top 10 goes to the school’s all-time leader in passing yards, attempts, completions and completion percentage. Sean Clifford was a four-year starter at Penn State who had ups and downs, but went out as well as he could have. Clifford lit up Utah in the Rose Bowl to end the 2022 season, completing 16 of his 21 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns to lead the program to a win, earning him a second victory in a New Year’s Six bowl — adding to his win over Memphis in the 2019 Cotton Bowl.
Clifford took the final spot over two former teammates in wide receiver Parker Washington and running back Miles Sanders. Washington was consistently good in his three years at Penn State, while Sanders had a big year in his lone season as a starter after Barkley’s departure.
This story was originally published June 27, 2024 at 4:16 PM.
