Penn State OL Eric Wilson signs NFL contract
Penn State football had a Big Ten best eight players selected in this weekend’s NFL Draft. Since then, the Nittany Lions have seen a few other former players sign free agent contracts, too.
The latest to confirm is offensive lineman Eric Wilson.
Late Saturday night, Penn State confirmed that the former Harvard transfer has signed a free agent contract with the New Orleans Saints. Wilson also confirmed the signing on his Twitter feed.
A graduate transfer, Wilson played 22 games at Harvard in 2018 and 2019. After the Ivy League elected not to play in 2020, Wilson entered his name into the transfer portal, but still finished out his degree at Harvard. He originally committed to Auburn, but then switched to Penn State after Gus Malzahn was fired.
With Sal Wormley out for the season due to an injury, Wilson started immediately for the Nittany Lions in the season opener against Wisconsin. He played in all 13 games, making 12 starts overall. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall offensive grade of 64.3 the past season. He earned a 67.6 grade for pass blocking and 60.6 for run blocking.
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At Penn State’s Pro Day in March, Wilson benched press 225 pounds 29 times. He had an 8-foot, 6-inch broad jump, 5.23-second 40-yard dash and a 4.58-second shuttle.
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Following the season, Wilson spoke candidly about Penn State’s offensive line in an interview with Tom Hanafin and Matt McGloin on the Paydirt Podcast.
“I think we would all say we were disappointed with [last season]. We knew going into the year we had a great chance to mesh and be a great offensive line, and it just didn’t happen for us for whatever reason. I think we’d all own that.
“We know that we have a room that can be great. I say ‘we’ still. I feel like I’m a part of those guys like that. There is greatness in that room, and I have 100 percent faith that they’re going to get that this year.”
As of late Saturday night, Penn State had also confirmed that Derrick Tangelo signed a free agent deal with the Atlanta Falcons. It’s been reported that linebacker Ellis Brooks is also expected to sign with the Green Bay Packers.
