Five Penn State Players Invited to NFL Combine

This afternoon, the NFL announced the players who will be invited to participate in the 2016 NFL scouting combine, which will take place in Lucas Oil Stadium from February 23 through 29. Amongst those announced invitees were Penn State defensive tackles Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel, defensive end Carl Nassib, defensive back Jordan Lucas, and quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The full list of combine invitees is available on the NFL's website.

Johnson will likely be the first Lion selected, and may go in the first round. Nassib, who garnered a slew of postseason awards, is a near-consensus top ten defensive end in the draft, and is projected to go as early as the second day. Zettel projects to end at the next level, where he started his Penn State career, and Walter Football loves him more than all of the other draft scouts; Lucas, who is projected in his senior position of safety, may be anywhere top ten to top fifteen player at that position but still may fall based on NFL.com's predictions. Walter Football likes him more.

Hackenberg, who is foregoing his senior year of eligibility to enter the draft, is no longer projected by some to be one of the top five quarterbacks drafted.

Kyle Carter was also a potential invitee, but didn't make the cut after by some accounts a less than impressive East-West Shrine game.