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Penn State's Jordan Lucas accepts Senior Bowl invitation

By Audrey Snyder/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 8 years ago

Penn State safety Jordan Lucas’ senior season come to a close three weeks ago during the Nittany Lions’ loss to Northwestern, but Lucas accepted his invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Tuesday. 


Senior safety Jordan Lucas is the first Nittany Lion to accept a Senior Bowl invitation this season. (Photo/Craig Houtz)

While it’s unclear whether or not the shoulder injury that sidelined Lucas for the remainder of the season will allow him to play in the game in Mobile, Ala. on Jan. 30. At the very least he will go through the standard pre-NFL Draft procedures at the event, thus giving him a leg up on the process before meeting with teams at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Lucas, who moved from cornerback to safety this season, is the first Penn State player to accept the invitation. He could be joined by defensive end Carl Nassib, the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year, who at 6-foot-7 and with an FBS best 15.5 sacks this season should be on many team’s radars in the coming months. Nassib was invited to the Senior Bowl, coach James Franklin said last month, but thus far a decision on playing in the game hasn’t been made. 

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Austin Johnson has not announced yet whether he will declare for the NFL Draft following Penn State’s bowl game, but I would not be surprised to see Johnson, a potential early-round pick, end up playing in the Senior Bowl if he would choose to declare.

At 6-4, 323 lbs. --and with a burst off the line and the strength to drive offensive linemen backwards and blow up plays in the backfield-- Johnson could project ahead of even junior quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who could go in the second round if he chooses to declare.

Both Johnson and Hackenberg have been mum on their futures when asked within the last week. 

Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter @audsnyder4.