Connor the latest Nittany Lion from Linebacker U. (1 Viewer)

[Dan in Lafayette]

Gary Mihoces / USA Today

Before his team faced Penn State last November, Purdue football coach Joe Tiller was asked during a teleconference about the quality of the Nittany Lions' linebackers.

"Can anyone in the room tell me the last time Penn State had inadequate linebackers? I certainly couldn't name the day," Tiller said.

"It would be pre-Tiller, that's for sure — and I'm talking about Tiller's birth, not Tiller's appearance here at Purdue."

Tiller was born in 1942. But Penn State's reputation as Linebacker U. didn't actually start building until the late 1960s and early '70s with All-Americans such as Jack Ham and Dennis Onkotz. Full Story – USA Todayhttp://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-03-12-sw-dan-connor_N.htm