For a handful of stars on Penn State’s 1986 roster, winning the 1987 Fiesta Bowl over Miami and securing the program’s second national championship in history was only the beginning.
The seniors still had the upcoming NFL Draft to consider after the big game, and plenty of them would pursue professional careers. In fact, a program-record 13 players from Penn State were drafted in late April 1987, with 12 of them coming from the national-championship winning squad.
Four decades after Penn State’s most recent national title, here’s where those 12 ended up.
Round 1
Both the offensive and defensive players of the game from the 1987 Fiesta Bowl were scooped up in the opening round.
Linebacker Shane Conlan, who helped seal Penn State’s national championship win with a critical interception, was the first Nittany Lion selected in the 1987 NFL Draft. Conlan was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the eighth overall pick after he entered the draft as the Nittany Lions’ leading tackler in 1986.
After six seasons with the Bills, Conlan was signed by the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the 1993 season and closed out his career in 1995.
Running back D.J. Dozier was the second former Penn Stater off the board, selected with the 14th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings.
Dozier spent three seasons in Minnesota but considered making the switch to professional baseball in the early 1990s. Mixed in with the 1990 and 1991 NFL seasons, Dozier played for the minor-league affiliates of the New York Mets — the Double-A Williamsport Bills and the Triple-A Tidewater Tides. He made his MLB debut with the Mets in 1992 as an outfielder.
In 1990, he was reactivated to the Vikings roster due to injuries in their running back room. The next year, Dozier signed with the Detroit Lions off waivers but saw minimal time.
Round 3
The next two Nittany Lions off the board were running backs Tim Manoa and Steve Smith, who were selected back-to-back at 80th and 81st overall to the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Raiders respectively.
Between the two, Smith had the longer career, playing for nine years before retiring due to a back injury.
Former Nittany Lion fullback Steve Smith barrels through the Maryland defense during a Lion win in 1986.
File
By comparison, Manoa — despite being selected one pick earlier — had a short-lived career. He spent four seasons in the NFL, the first three of which were with the Browns before he was picked up by the Indianapolis Colts after a year off for his final season.
Round 4
Linebacker Don Graham was selected with the first pick of the fourth round to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He spent three years in the NFL, appearing in 13 games with three different teams. 10 of those games came in 1988 with the Bills, recording six solo tackles. Graham ended his career after a single game with the Washington Redskins in 1989.
Round 5
Penn State’s national champion punter John Bruno was selected with the 126th overall pick in the fifth round by the St. Louis Cardinals, but played his only NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before the curtain fell.
Bruno was diagnosed with melanoma in December 1991 and later died in April 1992. The Foreman Foundation was established in his memory “to raise funds for medical research that will lead to the cure for melanoma cancer, while heightening awareness as to the causes and symptoms of this disease,” according to the Foreman Group website.
Offensive lineman Chris Conlin was picked up later in the fifth round by the Miami Dolphins with the 132nd overall pick. Conlin spent three years with Dolphins, but only appeared in three games, all of which were during his rookie season, due to injury.
Conlin was then picked up by the Colts in 1990, where he appeared in all 16 games but started none. After starting two games among eight appearances in 1991, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1992 but was released without playing a game.
Round 6
Tim Johnson went to the Steelers with the 141st overall pick and spent three of his 10 seasons in the NFL with Pittsburgh before playing six seasons in Washington. He then closed out his career with a single season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1996.
Originally a defensive end for the Steelers, Johnson transitioned to right defensive tackle when he arrived in Washington and played the position for the remainder of his career.
Linebacker Bob White was picked up by the San Francisco 49ers with the 162nd overall pick but never signed an official contract. His rights were transferred to the Browns in 1988, but once more he didn’t sign.
Collegian Football Photo – Bob White
Collegian Staff
Rounds 8-11
Offensive lineman Dan Morgan was taken with the 222nd overall pick in Round 8 by the Denver Broncos, but he bounced around the league in the offseason before ending up with the New York Giants.
Morgan appeared in only two games in his NFL career.
Defensive back Sid Lewis fell to the double-digit rounds, being selected in the 10th round with the 268th overall pick to the Jets. He played in two games as a rookie in 1987 before his career came to a close.
Tight end Brian Siverling was the final former Nittany Lion picked up in the draft, going to Detroit with the 286th overall pick in the 11th round. However, he wasn’t signed to an official contract.
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