Only Alex Furmanek and Gino Capone Until Penn State Football

Penn State’s current wearer of the 47 jersey is redshirt junior defensive tackle Alex Furmanek. At North East High School near Erie, he was a standout on both sides of the ball, earning all-region honors at both linebacker and running back, as well as the same honor in basketball. Furmanek rushed for over 1,000 yards as a junior and had 912 yards in five games before suffering a season-ending injury. He also recorded 19 tackles in a single game. At Penn State, Furmanek saw action in one game during his redshirt freshman season in 2020, recording no statistics.

In terms of former players to wear 47, Gino Capone committed to the Nittany Lions in 1999, and became one of the bright spots of the “Dark Years.” He didn’t see much playing time in his first two seasons, but started at middle linebacker during his junior and senior years. In 2002, Capone was named second-team All-Big Ten, and he followed that up with a 100-tackle performance in his final season. The North Schuylkill native was signed by the Vikings following the 2004 NFL Draft.

47 days until Penn State takes on Purdue!