Who are Penn State’s top 10 offensive players of the James Franklin era? Here’s our list

Penn State head coach James Franklin has been at the helm of the Nittany Lion football program for a decade, with plenty of offensive players finding immense success in that time. We’ve already ranked the top 10 wins of the Franklin era, and now we move on to our next top 10.

Let’s take a look at our top 10 offensive players of the head coach’s tenure.

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.

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.

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.

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