Only Matt Millen Until Penn State Football

With nobody current wearing #60 on the Penn State football roster, we turn our attention to Penn State great Matt Millen.

Millen played for the the program from 1976 to 1979 and was a 1978 All-American as a defensive end for the Nittany Lions. Following his career at Penn State, Millen would go onto be a second round selection of the Oakland Raiders in 1980. He would retire in 1991 after 11 seasons that included four Super Bowl championships, two All-Pro selections, and one Pro Bowl selection.

After retiring in 1991, Millen would go into broadcasting where he would stay until 2001 when became the president and CEO of the Detroit Lions. He would serve in those positions until 2008. After leaving pro football for a second time, Millen returned to broadcasting and can now be found doing games for the Big Ten Network and can often be seeing games featuring the Nittany Lions.

This past spring however, the public was made aware of some unfortunate news regarding Millen’s health after months of speculation. The Morning Call based out of Allentown, PA reported that Millen was suffering from a rare condition and could need a heart transplant in the future.

While Millen gets flack for being a homer or overly gushing about a specific player during broadcasts, there were two things that Millen never was shy about. His love for his hometown (Whitehall, PA - which Saquon Barkley is of course from) and his love for his alma mater.

We here at Black Shoe Diaries give our best wishes to Matt in his fight against amyloidosis and hope to see him back in the broadcast booth this fall!