Penn Statehashigh expectations for the 2024 college football seasonfollowing another 10-win regular seasoncampaign last fall. The Nittany Lions areprojected as a fringe top-10 team in earlynational preseason rankings, withBig Ten championship aspirationsanda debut College Football Playoff appearancein focus.
PSU opens its 2024 game scheduleAug. 31 at West Virginiaina rematch of the Nittany Lions' 2023 opener win. In the meantime, our Countdown to Kickoff series will feature players whose uniform numbers correspond with that number of days remaining until that matchup.Now at47days,we focus former Nittany Lions player turned current staff member Jordan Hill.
PATH TO PENN STATE
Playing defensive line and fullback,Jordan Hillhelped leadSteelton-Highspire (Pa.) High Schoolto PIAA 1A titles in 2007 and 2008. Within the 2009 recruiting cycle, composite ratings placed him 36th among players in Pennsylvania, and the in-state Nittany Lions presented the three-star prospect his most high-profile offer.
Hill's other optionsin high school included Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Temple. He signed with Penn State in February 2009 and, in retrospect, it's hard to believe how many Power Five programs passed on an opportunity to enter his recruitment.
Recognized as a MaxPrepssmall-school All-American, he totaled 275 tackles and 19 sacks atSteelton-Highspire. His senior season featured 143 tackles, four sacks, and three interceptions, resulting in first-team all-state recognition.
HAPPY VALLEY HIGHLIGHTS
A lack of depth on the defense line caused Penn State coachesto burn Hill's redshirt midway through his true freshman season of 2009. Heswiftlyestablished himself as a key figure on the front four. In 2010, he played in every game while making four starts, and secured a then-career high seven tackles during a loss totop-ranked Alabama.
As a junior, Hill took another step forward and started every game.He led all Nittany Lions defensive linemen with 59 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks,leading to an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
As important as his play was on the field, Hill was also part of a junior class that played a pivotal role in keeping the program afloat amid Sandusky-related turmoil. He may not have been as vocal asclassmates such as Mike Mauti, Matt McGloin and Michael Zordich, but like them, he never blinked when given the chance to transfer as NCAA sanctions hit in the summer of 2012.
Hillremaineda steady force on and off the field,making himespecially valuable to that Nittany Lions squad.
Back in action as a senior, he started all 11 games in which he played and finished fourth on the team with 64 tackles. That production included 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks,and helpedearn him a first-team spot on the All-Big Ten team.
BEYONDCOLEGE
The Seattle Seahawks selected Hill as a third-rounder in the 2013 NFL Draft. Although he entered only four regular-season matchups as a rookieand did not see action in the playoffs, Hill received a Super Bowl ring after the Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos to complete that campaign.
Hillparticipatedin 23 regular-seasoncontestsduring the ensuing two seasons, totaling43 tackles and 10 quarterback hits. Seattle place him on injured reserve before 2016 kickoff, then released him that October. He briefly landed with Washington in the aftermath of that release, but quickly hit free agency again. TheJacksonville Jaguars brought Hill on board in November and ultimately utilizedhim in four games.
The following offseason,Hill signed a free-agent deal with the Detroit Lions. However, apreseason arm injury prevented him from ever playing for that franchise. Detroit kept Hill on injured reserve for the entire year, so the season counted toward his NFL pension, which proved to bekey as he retired from pro ball following that campaign.
After finishing hisNFL career, Hill transitioned into coaching. He was named head coach atTrinity High School (Camp Hill, Pa.) in 2021 and spent three seasons at the helm, coaching Nittany Lions Class of 2026 running back commitMessiah Mickensalong the way.
The 33-year-old Hillrecently returned to Happy Valley on the Penn State football staff, hired asthe new director of life skills.
"I would like to thank Coach Franklin for giving me this incredible opportunity to return to a program and university that I have so much passion for," Hill said in a news release. "I am excited to join this incredible staff and help guide the young men in this football program in any way I can. This is a special place and I am thrilled to be back and helping contribute to this outstanding organization."
* Walk-on redshirt sophom*orelong-snapper Will Patton will wear No. 47 for the Nittany Lions this season.
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Previous Numbers
48 - Kaveion Keys
49 - Ben Chizmar50 - Cooper Cousins and Alonzo Ford
51 - Hakeem Beamon
52 - Ryan Bates
53 - Nick Dawkins
54 - Xavier Gilliam
55 - Chimdy Onoh
56 - Joseph Mupoyi and JB Nelson
57 - Donnie Harbour
58 - Kaleb Artis
59 - Aaron Maybin
60 - Matt Millen
61 -Stefen Wisniewski62 - Michal Menet
63 - Alex Birchmeier
64- Eagan Boyer
65 - Miles Dieffenbach66 - Drew Shelton
67 -Kareem McKenzie68 - Anthony Donkoh
69 -Floyd Wedderburn70 - Garrett Sexton
71 - Vega Ioane
72 - Nolan Rucci
73 - Caleb Brewer74 - J'ven Williams
75 - Eric Shrive
76 - Steve Smear
77 - Sal Wormley
78 - Mike Munchak79 - Addison Penn
80 - Mehki Flowers
81 - Kyle Brady
82 - Kenny Jackson83 - Joe Jurevicius84 - Peter Gonzalez85 - Luke Reynolds86 - Brenton Stange
87 - Andrew Rappleyea88 -Jerry Cross89 -Dave Robinson90 -Liam Andrews91 -Dvon Ellies and Chase Meyer92 -Smith Vilbert93 -Sander Sahaydak94 -Ryan Barker and De'Andre Cook95 -Jordan Mayer and Riley Thompson96 -Immanuel Iyke97 -T.A. Cunningham98 -Jordan Stout99 -Coziah Izzard100-Meet the Penn State transfer class
