STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Friday was a big day in Happy Valley for Penn State football players looking to make their dreams of playing pro football a reality.
Penn State Pro Day at the university's Holuba Hall on March 15 was the next big to-do on many of the players' check-lists. With scouts and coaches from all 32 teams present, it was a chance for some to further solidify their spot in the 2024 draft and others to make a name for themselves to keep their pro football dreams alive.
"It's a moment I’ve dreamt of for a long time, it’s been a very long goal of mine since I started playing football," said Penn State offensive lineman Olumuyiwa Fashanu, the highest Penn State player on many draft boards and projected to be selected within the top 10. "When that moment comes, I am not really sure what I am going to do. I am just going to make sure I embrace everyone whose been with me this entire time."
Click the video below to watch his full interview with FOX43:
"I’ve been enjoying it, it’s a dream as a kid," said Penn State defensive end Chop Robinson, who is projected to be a first-round draft pick. "You got to cherish every moment and take it one day at a time."
Outside of first-round hopefuls Fashanu and Robinson, tight end Theo Johnson and defensive end Adisa Isaac are often projected to be selected towards the top of the 2024 NFL Draft and have continued to see their draft stock rise due to their workout performances.
"I think I’ve helped myself a ton, I was a guy that people had a lot of questions about," said Johnson. "Throughout this process, I think I’ve shown people I can move well. I am not your typical big wide tight end, I can do anything you need at tight end."
The common theme among the four top Penn State prospects? Gratefulness.
It's a day when they hear their name called that they've been waiting for and dreaming of.
"It’s going to mean the world [to get drafted]. It’s a lot of workouts, it’s a lot of hard days, a lot of ups and downs [that] set the course for where I’m at now and molded me mentally into the player and the person that I am," said Isaac. "I’m just extremely grateful for it all. I wouldn’t take away any of the bad times because it helped mold me. You can’t have a high without a low. Just having that balance and growing from it, being aware of the situation at hand and being in the moment."
"I’ve been playing football since five years old, my dad has been pushing me since five years old and I fell in love with the game as a kid," said Robinson. "Just chasing that dream and watching older guys, former teammates being in the NFL on TV, it’s just a blessing that I am going to be their next."
One of those “older guys” is former Penn State star Saquon Barkley. Barkley, who just signed with the Eagles, was in attendance to support his boys in blue and white. He understands the process and knows what the Nittany Lions prospects are going through more than anybody else after being selected second overall in the 2018 draft.
Head Coach James Franklin was also at the pro day festivities to support his players who are taking the next big step. It's his program that has instilled a confident mindset heading into one of the biggest moments of their lives and what they have all been working for.
"Honestly Penn State changed my life," said Robinson. "Being here with Coach Franklin and being here with all the guys, guys with the same mindset as you. There’s only one way to get out of it and its greatness."
"I think the most important thing that Penn State added was that sense of competitiveness," said Fashanu. "Everyone always talks about how Penn State is the most competitive environment in college football and I definitely felt that and that’s definitely something that’s etched in me now."
A confidence in success at the game's highest level, if and when their names are called on draft day.
"Whatever team that drafts either three of them or the rest of the guys here, they are all getting steals," said Fashanu.