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Penn State DT Derrick Tangelo signs free agent contract

Mug-Shot 4x4by:Ryan Snyder•04/30/22•

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Former Penn State defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo has signed a free agent contract. (Credit: BWI/Thomas Frank Carr)

Penn State football had eight players selected in this weekend’s NFL Draft.

Five of those players were selected between rounds four and seven Saturday, but there are a few other former Nittany Lions still available for free agent deals.

One of those became official Saturday evening, as Derrick Tangelo signed a deal with the Atlanta Falcons. According to Tom Pelissero from NFL Network, he’ll be guaranteed $55,000.

Tangelo only spent one season at Penn State, transferring from Duke in December 2021.

Last season, he played in all 12 of Penn State’s regular season games. However, he did elect to sit out of Penn State’s Outback Bowl game loss to Arkansas. Tangelo totaled 29 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

He also considered entering the NFL last season, but ultimately decided to transfer to Penn State when he learned that the Nittany Lions had interest. Tangelo admitted when he transferred that he always wanted to play for Penn State coming out of the Bullis School in Maryland.

During his career at Duke, Tangelo was a three-year starter. Although he played sparingly his first season on campus, Tangelo didn’t redshirt for the Blue Devils. During his final three seasons in Durham, he played in nearly every game for David Cutcliffe, totaling over 100 tackles and five sacks.

According to Pro Football Focus, Tangelo was incredibly consistent at Duke. He earned a 75.5 overall defensive rating his freshman year and followed that with an 80.3 in 2018. As an upperclassmen, he had a grade of 74.5 playing in 10 games in 2019, and followed that up with a 75.6 in 2020. His 63.4 grade last season at Penn State was the lowest of his career.

At Penn State’s Pro Day, Tangelo was just under 6-foot-2 and 296 pounds. He ran a 4.89-second 40-yard dash and bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times. He also had a 9-foot, 5-inch broad jump.

Tangelo will join a former teammate of his, as defensive end Arnold Ebiketie was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons Friday. Ebiketie was the 38th overall pick in this year’s draft.

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