There are 78 days until the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, and a bunch of Penn State football’s graduating seniors are looking to impress scouts across the country.

While the NFL Draft Combine is coming up later in February and Penn State’s Pro Day is scheduled for mid-March, the first place that scouts got an opportunity to get their eyes on the Nittany Lions since the season concluded at the Pinstripe Bowl was in various postseason all-star bowl games.

In total, 11 graduating Nittany Lions were scheduled to participate in a total of four all-star bowl games in January. While some got in the game and others stayed on the sidelines, their skills were on display in the practices leading up to them.

Hula Bowl

Gabe Nwosu, Penn State’s starting punter and kickoff specialist, went to the Hula Bowl down in DeLand, Florida, on January 10 and was part of Team Kai’s 38-21 victory.

A box score or game tape isn’t readily available, which is unusual given that box scores and game tapes are available for other all-star bowl games. The only footage of the game is in 30-second clips uploaded to social media and a two-hour documentary surrounding Jon Gruden. It turns out that the people who run the Hula Bowl totally bungled pretty much everything with the event, from staffing to television rights to lodging. Rough.

Given his team scored 38 points, it’s unclear how much of a role Nwosu had in the game. The 6’6″, 302-pound punter will look to be Penn State’s first special teamer drafted since hybrid kicker and punter Jordan Stout was selected in the fourth round in 2022 by the Baltimore Ravens.

American Bowl

Two Nittany Lions competed for the Warhawks in the inaugural American Bowl in Lakeland, Florida, on January 22.

Nick Dawkins, the 2024 Wuerffel Trophy winner, has started at center for Penn State over the last two seasons and got his fair share of attention at the American Bowl. He reportedly met with 19 different teams in the days preceding and even had some practice clips uploaded to YouTube. Going through the game footage, it does not look like he played much, if at all, in the actual game.

Khalil Dinkins, who started at tight end in 2025 following the departure of Tyler Warren, got more in-game reps than Dawkins (though it was hard to tell because of some strange helmet decals) and was predominantly a run blocker and fullback, playing to his strengths. Despite multiple occasions where he ran a good route and got open, he didn’t register a target.

The Warhawks won 7-6 on a game-winning touchdown with 18 seconds left.

East-West Shrine Bowl

Two Nittany Lions got reps in at the East-West Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas, on January 27.

Nolan Rucci stepped up from a backup swing tackle role to being the team’s everyday right tackle in the 2025 season and got recognition during his time in Frisco. He had ups and downs, but his performance in practice drills stood out to scouts. He’s also following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who competed at the event in 1960. Of all the Nittany Lions who participated in these games, his stock might’ve improved the most.

OT Nolan Rucci carrying on a family tradition here at the East West Shrine Bowl pic.twitter.com/R1ADa8Oitv

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 28, 2026

Tyler Duzansky has a real chance to latch on somewhere, whether during the draft or after. Perennially lauded as one of the nation’s best long snappers, the 2025 Patrick Mannelly Award finalist reportedly met with the Washington Commanders and earned an invite to the Draft Combine. In the game, he executed on all four of his snaps.

Senior Bowl

The most notable all-star bowl game of them all, the Senior Bowl, had six Penn Staters participate in the process leading up to the game on January 31 in Mobile, Alabama.

Nick Singleton was a standout in early practices before suffering a broken foot two days before the game last Thursday. Singleton’s longtime running mate in the backfield, Kaytron Allen, impressed in practice as well.

Kaytron Allen said it’s “still kind of unbelievable” that he’s Penn State’s all-time leading rusher. But now he has a new goal: cement himself as one of the top RBs in the NFL draft.

Caught up w/ Allen at the #SeniorBowl, where he’s already turning heads: https://t.co/EYRhdlSB1f pic.twitter.com/E8YzDsypsq

— Johnny McGonigal (@jmcgonigal9) January 29, 2026

Dani Dennis-Sutton was another practice standout, but did not play in the Senior Bowl itself. He did suffer an apparent chest injury on the same day as Singleton, but returned to practice later that day.

A look at Dani Dennis-Sutton at the Panini Senior Bowlpic.twitter.com/DH0JhzTp0l

— Lyle Alenstein (@LAlenstein) January 28, 2026

Zakee Wheatley, who was a veteran presence in a young Penn State secondary in 2025, was highly lauded during the week on defense. As was Zane Durant, whose draft stock fell during the season but showed the traits that made him such an intriguing defensive tackle prospect entering the year. Drew Shelton has a good chance to be the second Penn State offensive lineman off the board in April, and he was at the event, too.

Breaking Down Zane Durant At The Senior Bowl pic.twitter.com/GqmaShZqCR

— Nicholas Dheilly (Dline Coach) (@Dline_coach) February 1, 2026

None of the Nittany Lions, however, registered a stat in the game. For whatever reason, several of them just didn’t participate in the game itself. Of course, they were able to impress scouts throughout the week, but it was odd not to see any of them in game action.