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'It's super special': Penn State football players host THON families, discuss what event means to them

IMG_1698 5 (1)by:David Eckert•02/19/22•

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Penn State football players at THON athlete hour (BWI/Eckert)

Penn State Athletics hosted THON families for Athlete Hour on Saturday afternoon, an annual THON weekend tradition.

The THON dance marathon is the largest student-run philanthropy effort in the world, raising money to benefit those affected by pediatric cancer. At this year’s event, 667 Penn State students will dance for 46 straight hours, leading up to the announcement of this year’s fundraising total on Sunday afternoon.

Inside Penn State’s indoor track and multi-sport facility, Penn State football players and other athletes played played cornhole, four-square and soccer with the THON children, among countless other games.

“It’s great to see all of these wonderful young kids, a lot of them having a tough time in their life,” Nittany Lion linebacker Curtis Jacobs said. “It’s nice to see all of them come in with a smile on their face, just having fun, coming to see the facility, getting to eat some good food.”

Several of Penn State’s early enrollees attended the event. Quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, running back Nick Singleton, wideouts Omari Evans and Kaden Saunders, and tight end Jerry Cross were among those in attendance.

Many older Penn State players like wideouts Malick Meiga and Parker Washington and tight end Tyler Warren also took time out to interact with the families.

“I love it, man,” Meiga said. “I love it. When I was in Montreal I had a job working with kids as a camp instructor. So I was just with kids all day. I love kids and it just feels good to just be out here and have a positive impact on their life.

“Just talking to them, doing fun activities. It’s pretty cool. It don’t take a lot from us, and it gives a lot of joy to them.”

Jacobs said he feels it’s important to get the freshmen involved in the Penn State community early on. THON provides the perfect opportunity.

“It shows them that you’ve gotta give back in this,” Jacobs said. “There’s people that aren’t as fortunate as us, and their day here just makes their year. So this is great for them to see that, and put a smile on these kids’ faces.”

Penn State linebacker Tyler Elsdon said he enjoyed meeting the families in person this year. Having taken part virtually last year, seeing the kids’ faces adds an extra layer of joy for Elsdon.

“It’s super special to me, getting to see people in person,” he said. “Last year we had it on Zoom. It’s very, very, very special. I know there’s a lot of people that have been affected by cancer, just disease in general. So just being able to give back and kind of give people hope and really just bring a positive light to bad situations. I’m super grateful to be part of it.”

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