LaVar Arrington is no stranger to Penn State football.

The linebacker played for the Nittany Lions from 1997-1999 before being picked No. 2 overall by Washington in the 2000 NFL Draft.

The Nittany Lion returned to Happy Valley ahead of the White Out, hosting a meet and greet during Venmo’s Town Hall takeover at Champs downtown. Onward State got the chance to sit down with Arrington and talk about the landscape of Penn State football, the defense, legacies, and his son.

Drew Allar recently signed an NIL deal with Venmo, becoming the face of the new Penn State Venmo Debit Card. Arrington touched on Allar’s deal and the changing landscape of college sports with NIL deals, sharing that Penn State needs to stay true to its core despite all the money.

“Now there’s the idea of trying to figure out what’s the proper way to go about handling the business of college athletics without it turning into just the business of college athletics…There are going to be those who are driven and motivated purely by the money. There are going to be those who are motivated and inspired by other things.

“It’s just a matter of figuring out, especially here at Penn State, I feel like what our past has represented, our tradition has represented, it’s always been kind of, we’re upstanding. We’re about our academics first, and that’s always been a badge of honor that we’ve worn, and so I believe our current players, they embrace that same type of approach to what’s taking place,” Arrington said.

Arrington’s son, LaVar Arrington II, followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the Nittany Lions this season. While Penn State has always been a part of the fabric of all of the Arrington’s lives, his son truly felt at home at Penn State despite all the opportunities he had.

“I raised my kids around Penn State, and Penn State has always been a fabric of what our family represents. Just the values that I learned here and developed here, the character traits, all those different things that I’m proud was a part of their childhood,” he said.

Arrington didn’t even go through the recruiting process with his son, not wanting to overstep in his experience. But in the end, Penn State is always home.

Arrington II is just one more elite player to carry on the legacy of Linebacker U, and possibly even ST1X C1TY, if he ends up wearing the iconic 11. Arrington has faith in his son, giving him time to grow, despite some people’s questions of why he might not be starting yet. It’s all a part of the process.

“Your success is engaged and measured by how quickly you’re able to impact. It’s measured by you going through the process, trusting the process, learning about what it is that you’re going to do, and to have the guidance. He’s probably the only one that has had the guidance of looking at it from the perspective of, ‘I’m not thinking about transferring if I don’t start, I’m not thinking about transferring because I need to go through the process,” Arrington said.

Arrington was a two-time All-American at Penn State, something not many can accomplish. And even fewer do it unanimously. But his accomplishments were built through frustration and trusting the process, feeling doubt, and then figuring it out. And that’s exactly the journey he’s putting his son on.

If Arrington II wears No. 11 in his time, he also joins elite linebackers Abdul Carter and Micah Parsons, both Penn State legends on their own.

“Adbul, I think he’s got quite a tremendous ceiling of potential, and he’s a hard worker. He’s gone through that process of building the self-belief and understanding the hard work and self-belief, how that comes together and really culminates his end result. I’m excited to see what he’s able to do.

“Micah took it to a whole other level…now in the league, it’s going to be hard to match Micah Parsons, his output and his production,” Arrington said.

While Parsons has already cemented himself as a force to be reckoned with in the league, Carter is still trying to prove himself and find his footing. But Arrington, who also spent time on the New York Giants, has faith in Carter to be a special player.

The Nittany Lions’ defense has been extremely strong, shown not only through Parsons and Carter, but every week on the field. Their defense has been the highlight of the season, with an insane depth of talented players.

“There are so many really, really gifted, talented football players on that defensive unit… there will be a real showcase opportunity for them to showcase how talented and how gifted they are, but certainly led by the linebacker unit of Linebacker U,” he said.

To end it off, Arrington touched a bit on the legacy of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who had 409 wins as head coach. Penn State’s game against Oregon marked the 409th game in Beaver Stadium, and his legacy as coach is still seen every time the Nittany Lions take the field, a foundation that James Franklin is building off of.

“As [Paterno] took over as the head coach of the program, he built on top of that foundation and built what became known as Penn State football, truly, truly is representation of today. And I feel like coach Franklin has done an amazing job of taking what has happened in the past… It’s an exciting time, and that excitement is something that is deeply rooted in great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, and now their children.

“So that legacy continues on, and it will continue to be a part of what Penn State represents, but you certainly see the steps into more of a modern-day and current-day type of Penn State,” Arrington said.