Sunday Column: Once Again, Numbers Don’t Lie for Penn State During Draft Season 

Football, when you think about it, is all about math.

Quarterbacks are judged on their completion percentage (or QBR), running backs on their yards per carry, offensive and defensive linemen on the mass they possess and the mass they can move around. Coaches, of course, on their ability to make the hundreds of little equations add up to a win each week.

One of Penn State’s most underrated equations – the ability of Dwight Galt and his strength staff to add size and speed and skill to raw talent and turn it into future talent – was on display again this week during the team’s pro day.

Micah Parsons, a likely top 10 draft choice and the inarguable No. 1 linebacker in the Class of 2021, ran a 4.39-second 40 – one-tenth of a second off the best-ever time by a linebacker at the combine, Shaquem Griffin’s 4.38 in 2018 – at 246 pounds, or 21 heavier than Griffin. And it wasn’t even the top time of the afternoon. That one was a 4.36 40, which belonged to defensive END Jayson Oweh, who ran it at 257 pounds. That time was five hundredths of a second better than Montez Sweat, at 260 pounds, posted at the combine two years ago, which was the fastest ever.

(This is as good a time as any to point out that Parsons and Oweh ran these 40s in Holuba Hall, which has a reputation of being a slightly faster surface over the years than Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. Do with those numbers what you will, but if you ever find yourself in the open field and either of those gentlemen chasing you, protect the football.)

Parsons got some national buzz and surely validated his reputation in front of the representatives from 31 of the league’s 32 teams, even if his vertical jump and bench press numbers – 34 inches and 19 reps, respectively – weren’t as jaw-dropping. Oweh, who added a 39.5-inch vertical and a 4.21-second shuttle run to his blazing 40, likely helped his already promising stock even more.

Parsons and Oweh, of course, are elite athletes among elite athletes. It’s hard to think they wouldn’t put up insane numbers had they come through a number of other strength and conditioning programs. But that they came through Penn State’s, and sit poised to receive very handsome paychecks, is a credit to Galt and his crew. The same can be said of Saquon Barkley, who as a running back posted all sorts of strength marks at Penn State that most linemen would have been proud to call theirs. 

What Galt must also get credit for, however, is the players who don’t become day one or day two picks, or even get picked at all. Shaka Toney came to Penn State as a 210-pound freshman defensive end in 2016. He weighed in at 242 this week and posted 24 reps on the bench. Will Fries recorded a 31-inch vertical at 309 pounds. Steven Gonzalez, who was robbed of his pro day by the pandemic last year, came back for this one and bench-pressed 225 pounds 32 times.

Again, strength and speed are only part of the equation – players need to be able to apply those abilities at the right time and place on the field. Gonzalez’s strength didn’t always allow him to fulfill his assignments. Parsons’ speed just made him overrun plays faster than other freshmen would have before he started to figure out the game. Oweh’s incredible athleticism yielded plenty of pressures but no sacks last season. 

More often than not, though, Galt’s influence has made already good players better and/or better prepared for football at the next level. Pat Freiermuth was a 6-foot-5-inch man-child when he committed to Penn State, but he’ll leave as a 6-5, 250-pound man who now has the strength and endurance to match the physical style of play that he became known for. Yes, Barkley’s combine was the talk of the league, but how about Troy Apke’s or John Reid’s? Both defensive backs turned some heads, and both wound up as fourth-round picks. 

The other, and arguably most important, part of the equation is what Penn State recruits see when Parsons or Oweh or Barkley or Apke or Gonzalez post impressive numbers. The true blue-chippers can feel confident they will be able to match their production to their immense potential, while those who aren’t really on the NFL’s radar can know they have the opportunity to maximize their slim chances of making a roster, or at the very least, to become more productive college players. 

Setting a record in the 40 or squatting 400 pounds won’t win you a single football game on its own, but it might make a pro scout look at you differently. Penn State has impressive weight facilities (that are scheduled to be made more impressive) but when coaches take recruits on a tour of those facilities, they’re not asking them to look at the plates or the pulleys or the juice bar as much as the names of the guys on the records wall, many of whom can be found on television on autumn Sundays. 

The recruits can usually do the math.