PSU Football Names Team Captains

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: August 25, 2019

Courtesy of GoPSU Athletics

Seniors Blake Gillikin, Garrett Taylor, Cam Brown and Jan Johnson, junior Michal Menet and sophomores Sean Clifford, Pat Freiermuth and Jonathan Sutherland selected as captains for 2019

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State football head coachJames Franklin announced seniors Cam Brown(Burtonsville, Md.), Blake Gillikin (Smyrna, Ga.), Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) and Garrett Taylor (Richmond, Va.), junior Michal Menet (Birdsboro, Pa.) and sophomoresSean Clifford (Cincinnati, Ohio), Pat Freiermuth(Merrimac, Mass.) and Jonathan Sutherland (Ottawa, Ontario) have been voted as team captains for the 2019 season by their teammates. Gillikin is a team captain for the second-straight season.

“We have a great group of captains with a wide range of experiences,” Franklin said. “These eight guys have been tremendous representatives and leaders for our program. They live our core values and drive our culture daily. They have earned the respect of their teammates, coaches and staff. We are so proud to have this group of captains leading our team for 2019.”

Brown started in 12 of his 13 appearances last season. He led the team with three forced fumbles and was fifth on the squad with a career-high 63 tackles. Brown also registered a personal-best six pass breakups, which was fifth on the team. The senior linebacker has appeared in 37 games in the last three seasons. As a freshman, he was selected to the BTN.com and ESPN.com All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Brown spent part of this summer interning at The Bullis School.

Gillikin enters his final season as Penn State’s record holder in career punting average (43.32 ypp) and season punting average (43.95 ypp). He is the only player in program history with three punts of 70 or more yards, all of which came in 2018. Gillikin hit a career-long 74-yard punt at Michigan, which is tied for fourth on Penn State’s single-game charts with Anthony Fera. He also averaged 51.2 yards per punt in the 2019 Citrus Bowl against Kentucky, which is second in Penn State bowl history and fifth overall. A perfect 4.0 student, Gillikin was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year. He spent the summer interning at Drayer Physical Therapy and performing a job shadow at Penn State Health in State College.

Johnson’s journey has been an interesting one from walk-on to wrestler to scout team tight end to starting middle linebacker. He had nine games with five or more tackles in his first season as a starter. In his first career start against App State, Johnson made a career-high 11 tackles. He pulled in his first career interception and posted six tackles at Illinois in September. Johnson claimed a spot on the Pro Football Focus Big Ten Team of the Week after tallying 10 tackles and a pass breakup at Michigan. He graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in management and organizational leadership. He is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Taylor worked his way into the starting lineup at safety last season. He earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades from the league’s coaches and media after finishing eighth in the conference with three interceptions. He had nine games with five or more tackles, including a career-high 10 stops in the VRBO Citrus Bowl against Kentucky. In his first career start against App State last year, Taylor made eight tackles, including six solo stops. Versus Michigan State, he broke up a career-high five passes to go along with six tackles, an interception and forced fumble. In the classroom, Taylor is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and graduated with his degree in advertising and public relations. He is working on a second degree in telecommunications.

Menet started 12 games at center in 2018. He helped the Penn State offense finish 16th in red zone offense (.923), 29^th in rushing offense (208.6) and 29^th in scoring offense (34.6) in FBS in 2018. Additionally, the Nittany Lions posted their highest rushing average (204.9) since 2008 (205.8), led by second-team All-Big Ten selection Miles Sanders. Menet blocked for Trace McSorley, who became Penn State’s all-time passing leader and wins as a starting quarterback, finishing his career with 9,899 yards and 77 touchdowns. Menet opened up holes for Sanders, who posted the 26th 1,000-yard rushing season in program history, finishing with 1,274 yards to rank 11th on the single-season chart. Sanders also became the 28th player in program history to rush for 200 yards against Illinois (9/21/18).

Clifford was named starting quarterback on August 23. In four relief appearances last season, he was 5-for-7 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Among his completions was the longest play in Penn State history, a 95-yard pass to Daniel George against Kent State (9/15/18). The previous longest play from scrimmage was four different 92-yard efforts – a pass from Bill Hess to Bob Higgins in 1919 and rushes by Blair Thomas vs. Syracuse in 1986, Bill Belton vs. Indiana in 2014 and Saquon Barkley vs. Washington in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. Clifford earned Academic All-Big Ten honors last season.

Freiermuth was selected as a Freshman All-American by The Athletic, 247Sports and ESPN. He also earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten accolades from the conference’s coaches and media. He finished No. 2 among FBS tight ends and led the Big Ten tight ends with eight touchdown catches as a true freshman. Freiermuth’s eight score set the Penn State mark for most touchdowns by a freshman tight end and rank 10^th overall. He is one of three freshmen (four occasions) in program history to have two touchdown receptions in a game, joining Kyle Brady (vs. Cincinnati, 1991) and Deon Butler (vs. Central Michigan & Wisconsin, 2005). Freiermuth was named to the Sports Illustrated All-Bowl team after catching two passes for 38 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown against Kentucky in the VRBO Citrus Bowl.

Sutherland has been special teams phenom, collecting a team-best nine tackles in coverage with six coming on kickoff and three on punts. He finished the season with 38 total tackles. In the win at Indiana, Sutherland had seven tackles, including six solo stops, and forced his first career fumble on a punt return in the fourth quarter. Sutherland earned Dean’s List recognition as a true freshman in the spring of 2018.

The Nittany Lions’ home schedule features three non-conference games and four Big Ten Conference match-ups. The Nittany Lions open the season against Idaho (Aug. 31; 3:30 p.m.), Buffalo (Sept. 7; 7:30 p.m.) and the 100^th all-time meeting with Pittsburgh (Sept. 14; noon) in non-conference action. In Big Ten play, Penn State welcomes Purdue (Oct. 5; noon), Michigan (Oct. 19), Indiana (Nov. 15) and Rutgers (Nov. 30) to Happy Valley.