It’s been more than two weeks since the firing of former Penn State head coach James Franklin occurred.

An 11-year era came to an end, which began in 2014. While Franklin never brought a national championship to Happy Valley, he recruited a lot of talented players to the program, and in the process, he coached 18 All-Americans at Penn State, and 59 players were drafted into the NFL.

With the post-James Franklin era having begun about a week ago against Iowa, we ranked the best Penn State football players at each position in the James Franklin era.

Quarterback: Trace McSorley

This guy brought a lot of great memories to Penn State.

The quarterback out of Ashburn, Virginia, came to State College in James Franklin’s first year as the Penn State head coach. While he redshirted his freshman year and appeared in seven games in 2015, he instantly became the starter in 2016, and he did not disappoint. In his first year, he pulled off an upset win over Ohio State and led the team to its first Big Ten Championship since 2008. While he never made it to the College Football Playoff, he led the blue and white to a Fiesta Bowl win in 2017 and a Citrus Bowl appearance in his final season at Penn State.

McSorley finished his Penn State career with 9,899 passing yards, 77 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions while rushing for 1,697 yards and 30 touchdowns. His passing yards and touchdowns are the second-most in program history behind Sean Clifford. Sean Clifford and Drew Allar did well to fill in the shoes of McSorley, but no one can match the success that McSorley brought to Penn State.

Running Back: Saquon Barkley

This one was a no-brainer.

Saquon Barkley is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, running backs to ever come out of Penn State. The Pennsylvania native rushed for 3,843 yards with the Nittany Lions for an average of 5.7 yards per attempt. In the process, he finished with 52 touchdowns in his three seasons with the blue and white, finishing his career as the all-time rushing touchdown and total touchdown leader.

He played for the Nittany Lions from 2015-2017, and alongside McSorley, the duo formed one of the deadliest quarterback-running back duos in college football, leading the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Championship and Fiesta Bowl win. Barkley even finished fourth in Heisman trophy voting in 2017 before skipping his final year of eligibility to declare for the 2018 NFL Draft. His talent translated to the NFL and led to him winning a Super Bowl last season. He will forever be a legend in State College.

Wide Receiver: Jahan Dotson

This one was hard, but Jahan Dotson made the most impact as a wide receiver during the James Franklin era.

Dotson played for the blue and white from 2018 to 2021, and he recorded 183 catches for 2,757 yards and 25 touchdowns. In the process, the Nazareth, Pennsylvania native finished ranked No. 4 in all-time receiving yards, No. 2 in receiving touchdowns, and in catches in Penn State history. He has the Penn State single-game receiving record with 242 yards, which he set against Maryland in 2021.

In his first year as a full-time starter with the Nittany Lions, Dotson was the No. 2 wideout opposite KJ Hamler, but made an instant impact with the team. He scored five touchdowns and recorded 488 receiving yards while leading Penn State to a Cotton Bowl win. After Hamler left for the NFL Draft, he became the number one wide receiver, and he got better from there.

During the 2020 season, the blue and white struggled with a 4-5 record, but Dotson was one of the bright spots on the team. He accumulated 52 catches for 884 yards and eight touchdowns during the nine-game 2020 season. In his final season, he had his best season with the Nittany Lions despite a 7-6 record. Dotson recorded 91 receptions, 1,182 receiving yards, and 12 receiving touchdowns, the second-most ever by a Penn Stater in a single season. He is the last Penn State wide receiver to achieve 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

Tight End: Tyler Warren

Penn State is a tight-end school, but no one signifies that more than Tyler Warren.

Warren had a slow start to his Penn State career from 2021-2022, as he only had 190 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns during these two years. In his third season with the Nittany Lions, he started to make a significant impact as he became the full-time starter. He had 422 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns. However, in his final season, he took it to the next level.

Warren had one of the best seasons recorded by a tight end in college football history. He made his impact everywhere on the field, from receiving, running, to even snapping the ball as the center. He recorded 88 receptions, 1,062 yards, and six receiving touchdowns, along with 191 yards and four rushing touchdowns. He broke all of Penn State’s tight end career records with 153 receptions, 1,839 receiving yards, and 19 touchdowns.

Warren was the program’s first tight end to win the John Mackey Award, which is given to the nation’s best tight end. He led the Nittany Lions to their first Big Ten Championship game since 2016 and their first College Football Playoff in history. He was the anchor in Penn State’s success last season when Penn State’s wide receivers struggled.

Offensive Lineman: Olu Fashanu

Penn State had a lot of great offensive linemen, from Connor McGovern to Caedan Wallace, but Olu Fashanu stood out the most.

Fashanu played in Happy Valley for four seasons and was named a full-time starter before the 2022 season. He started 21 games at left tackle and appeared in 29 games. While he only played in eight games that season due to a season-ending injury, he did not allow a sack.

This trend continued into his senior season, and he recorded his best season as a Nittany Lion. He started all 12 regular-season games for the Nittany Lions and did not allow a sack in 382 pass-blocking snaps. He was named a consensus AP All-American in the process. He went on to become the first Penn State offensive lineman to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in 2024 since Levi Brown in 2007.

Defensive Tackle: Austin Johnson

While he only played two seasons under James Franklin, Austin Johnson made his mark in State College in a short amount of time.

Johnson played at Penn State from 2013 to 2015. In his first year playing under Franklin, the defensive tackle didn’t make much of an impact as he recorded 49 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and only one sack. Despite that, he was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention. In his final season with the Nittany Lions, he broke out as he accumulated 78 tackles, 15 for a loss, and 6.5 sacks. Along with that, he had a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown.

This led Johnson to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors before being picked in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. A lot of defensive tackles have had a lot of success at Penn State, but no one has made the impact like Johnson did.

Defensive End: Abdul Carter

Abdul Carter was one of the greatest defensive players in Penn State history. He started his Penn State career as a linebacker, recording 56 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and 6.5 sacks in 13 appearances. However, he had a slight dip the following year as he had 49 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception. This made him change positions from an off-ball linebacker to a defensive end.

Carter went on to record his best season statistically as a Nittany Lion after this move. He recorded 68 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and 12 sacks in 16 appearances. This led the blue and white to have one of the best defenses last season, where they made it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. This earned him accolades such as the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year, a first-team All-American distinction, and AP Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Year.

Carter became the first Penn State defensive end to hear his name called in the top three of the NFL Draft since Courtney Brown. Despite only playing one season as a defensive end, he was the most talented defensive end in the James Franklin era.

Linebacker: Micah Parsons

Was there any doubt?

While Parsons only played at Happy Valley for two seasons, he proved why he was one of the best linebackers, if not the best, to come out of Penn State. In his first year with the Nittany Lions, he led the team in tackles with 83 and had 1.5 sacks, along with two forced fumbles. He took his game to the next level in his second and final year at State College.

Parsons recorded 109 tackles, 14 for a loss, five sacks, four forced fumbles, along one fumble recovery. This led him to be named a first-team All-American in 2019 and was a key contributor to the Nittany Lions’ Cotton Bowl win. While he decided to skip the COVID year in 2020 to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft, his qualities translated well to the NFL and, in the end, made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Safety: Marcus Allen

Marcus Allen’s impact with Penn State is one to remember.

The Maryland native played with the Nittany Lions from 2014-2017 and became one of the best safeties to ever come out of State College. In his first two seasons, he combined for 139 tackles along with two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. In his third year, the safety was one of the key anchors in Penn State’s defense that won the Big Championship in 2016.

Not only did Allen block the field goal against Ohio State that resulted in one of the most historic plays in Penn State history, but he also accumulated 110 tackles along with two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in that same season. At the end of his Nittany Lion career, he tallied 321 tackles, which ranks No. 5 in program history. He also won the Fiesta Bowl in his final season with the blue and white, establishing himself as a leader on James Franklin’s defense during his Penn State career.

Cornerback: Joey Porter Jr.

Joey Porter Jr. proved at Penn State why he has the potential to follow in the footsteps of his father’s legendary NFL career.

The cornerback started his career at Happy Valley in 2019 as a redshirt freshman. In his first two years, he only appeared in 12 games and registered 36 tackles and five passes defended. In his sophomore year, Porter Jr. became a full-time starter and played significantly better. He recorded 51 tackles, four passes defended, and his first and only interception with the blue and white.

Porter Jr. recorded his best season with the Nittany Lions in his final year. While his tackle rate went down and he didn’t have an interception, he made himself one of the best cornerbacks to ever come out of Happy Valley. He tallied 27 tackles and 11 passes defended with a fumble recovery. In the 2022 season opener against Purdue, he set the program record for most pass breakups in a game with six. Due to his incredible talent, he was only thrown at 16 more times for the rest of the season after the Purdue game. He came one pick short of becoming the first Penn State cornerback in history to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.