Though Penn State is known as Linebacker U, the truth is that there have been almost as many Nittany Lion greats to play the running back position.  Though John Cappelletti stands out as the only Heisman trophy winner, he’s just one of a number of stars to line up in the Nittany Lion backfield. And, statistically speaking, he doesn’t even stand up to half of them!

The fifth member of the 44 for 44 is Larry Johnson.

It’s getting somewhat tiring to mention that so many of Penn State’s greats enjoyed tremendous success even before stepping foot on campus, but Larry Johnson was yet another of those high-profile recruits.  Growing up in the shadow of Beaver Stadium, Larry followed his father–who was then the special teams and defensive ends coach–across town: after graduating as a State College Little Lion, the younger Johnson matriculated as a Penn State Nittany Lion.  After an incredible senior season, in which Johnson ran for over 2200 yards with 29 touchdowns, and picked up 7 sacks as a defensive end, Larry Johnson was more than just a legacy recruit, he was a major coup.

Despite the hype, Johnson struggled to distinguish himself from amongst a crowded Penn State backfield.  As a freshman on that vaunted 1999 team, Johnson was an afterthought to the power-running tandem of Eric McCoo and Aaron Harris, managing just 43 carries the entire season, gaining 171 yards and a single touchdown.  Johnson was almost a greater threat as a receiver, where he made 4 catches for 70 yards and scored another touchdown.

Little did Johnson know at that point that Penn State was poised to enter its bleakest period in Joe Paterno’s tenure.  Heading into the 2000 season, spirits were already low, following the implosion which ended the preceding year.  And low spirits were only dampened when Penn State got off to the start they did–a 29-5 loss to USC at the Meadowlands was bad enough, but the Lions rebounded from that effort with a 24-6 drubbing at the hands of Toledo.  Though the Nits were able to handle Louisiana Tech, 67-7, they were outscored a whopping 67-6 the next two weeks, in a 12-0 shutout loss in Pittsburgh and a beatdown in Columbus.  And even worse–during that Ohio State game, promising freshman Adam Taliaferro broke his neck in that Ohio State game. We thought he’d never walk again.

Though Penn State was able to reverse the trend and beat a highly-ranked Purdue team, 22-20, that was one of the only bright spots in a 5-7 campaign.  On a personal level, Larry Johnson found himself bumped up in the depth chart following Aaron Harris’ graduation, receiving the second-most playing time behind McCoo, and as the team’s featured kick returner.  On 75 carries, Johnson rushed for a respectable 358 yards, adding 3 touchdowns.  In the season finale, against Michigan State, Johnson had a career best 10 carries for 94 yards, perhaps a good omen of his future dominance over the Spartans.  Still, that was a far cry from the dominant performances he was accustomed to putting up each week during his high school career. Read the rest of this entry »