Only Johnnie Troutman Until Penn State Football

The 2011 Penn State football squad has often been unheralded, lost in the shuffle of the scandal, though they were 8-1 with a lone loss to eventual national champion Alabama. Much of that team’s success was due to its senior-laden offensive line—and a big cog in that machine was redshirt senior guard Johnnie Troutman.

Troutman came to Penn State part of the New Jersey pipeline, committing to Penn State as part of the 2006 recruiting class that included Evan Royster, Aaron Maybin, Jared Odrick and NaVorro Bowman. He redshirted his first year and saw backup time his second in the program, before become a permanent starting lineman his redshirt sophomore season, a position he wouldn’t relinquish his next three seasons.

Troutman never allowed a sack through his side (left) and never committed a penalty his senior season. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, 149th overall, by the San Diego Chargers, where he sat on the reserve list as a rookie. He was called up his second year, and started most of his sophomore and junior campaigns due to injury.

In September 2015, the Chargers placed him on the injured reserve list and let him go after the season; he’s currently an unsigned free agent headed into the 2016 NFL season.