Athletics

Three Nittany Lions invited to 2014 NFL Combine

Wide receiver Allen Robinson is one of three Penn State football student-athletes invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Three Penn State football student-athletes have been invited to participate in the National Football League's 2014 Scouting Combine, which ranks among the Big Ten Conference leaders.

The Nittany Lions participating in the event are: defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (Johnson City, N.J.), wide receiver Allen Robinson (Southfield, Mich.), and offensive guard John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.).

The 2014 NFL Combine is set for Feb. 22-25 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

A 2013 first-team All-Big Ten selection, Jones led Penn State with 11.5 tackles for loss (minus-42 yards) and was named the Team Most Valuable Player. He ranked fifth on the squad with 56 tackles (33 solo), recorded three sacks (minus-21) and had a fumble recovery. A starter in 23 games over the past two seasons, the senior led all Big Ten defensive tackles in hits this season.

The 2012 and 2013 Big Ten Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year, Robinson earned seven All-America honors after a stellar 2013 season. The standout junior was selected a first-team All-American by CBSSports.com, Sporting News and Phil Steele's College Football, a second-team honoree by the FWAA, SI.com and Athlon Sports and a third-team honoree by the Associated Press.

The former Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's prep standout led the Big Ten with Penn State season records in receptions (97) and receiving yardage (1,432) for the second consecutive year. Robinson ranks No. 3 nationally in receiving yardage (119.3 ypg) and No. 8 in receptions (8.1 avg.). He had six touchdown catches in 2013 (17 career) and a long catch of 65 yards, which resulted in a touchdown at Ohio State.

Robinson ranks second in school career receptions (177) and third in Penn State career receiving yardage (2,474 yds), with numbers earned almost entirely the past two seasons (3 catches for 29 yards in 2011). His eight 100-yard receiving games this year were a Penn State season record and he made 13 catches of 35 or more yards this season, including four touchdowns of 45 yards or longer.

A 2013 Associated Press third-team All-American, Urschel started all 24 games the past two seasons and was selected first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches for the second consecutive season. A two-time CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American, Urschel became the first Penn State player to earn the National Football Foundation's prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, regarded as college football's academic Heisman Trophy, and claimed the Senior CLASS Award for college football.

Urschel joined Jeff Hartings (1993-95) and Stefen Wisniewski (2009-10) as the only Nittany Lion offensive linemen to earn multiple first-team All-Big Ten accolades. He was instrumental in helping true freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg break 11 school freshman passing and total offense records and Zach Zwinak and Bill Belton combine to rush for 1,792 yards last season. Urschel was the recipient or co-recipient of the offensive line's player of the game honor in 10 of 12 games this season. He graduated with undergraduate and master's degrees in Math with a 4.0 grade-point average.

The NFL Network and NFL.com will have coverage of the Scouting Combine daily from February 22-25.

The NFL Draft is scheduled for May 8-10, with the first round taking place on Thursday night.

There were 26 former Nittany Lions with NFL teams at the end of the regular season, placing Penn State in the top 15 nationally among schools in producing current NFL players.

Super Bowl XLVIII marked the 43rd time in the Super Bowl's 48-game history that at least one Penn State alumnus was a member of one of the participating teams. Former Penn State standouts Jordan Hill and Michael Robinson helped capped off a dominant playoff run for the Seattle Seahawks with a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium when they defeated the Denver Broncos, 43-8.

Thirty-seven former Nittany Lions have earned a total of 53 Super Bowl rings.

A total of 332 Nittany Lions have been selected all-time in the NFL Draft, including 36 in the first round. Penn State had at least three NFL Draft picks for the 15th time in its 20 seasons of Big Ten Conference competition.

Penn State returns 15 starters (7 offense, 7 defense, 1 specialist) and will host Rose Bowl Champion Michigan State (Nov. 29), Ohio State (Oct. 25), Northwestern (Sept. 27-Homecoming) and Maryland (Nov. 1) during its 2014 Big Ten home schedule. The Nittany Lions will play a trio of 2013 Top 10 teams in 2014 and open the season on Aug. 30 vs. UCF in Dublin, Ireland at the Croke Park Classic.

For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing 2014 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

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Last Updated February 7, 2014

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