Penn State hashigh expectations for the 2024 college football seasonfollowing another 10-win regular seasoncampaign last fall. The Nittany Lions areprojected as a fringe top-10 team in earlynational preseason rankings, withBig Ten championship aspirationsanda debut College Football Playoff appearancein focus.
PSU opens its 2024 game scheduleAug. 31 at West Virginiaina rematch of the Nittany Lions' 2023 opener win. In the meantime, our Countdown to Kickoff series will feature players whose uniform numbers correspond with that number of days remaining until that matchup.Now at 59days,and with no current Nittany Lion wearing No. 59, we throw it back to former All-American defender Aaron Maybin.
Here is commentary from longtime Lions beat reporter Mark Brennan, who covered Maybin's entire PSU career...
PATH TO PENN STATE
Aaron Maybinwas a three-star prospect at Mount Hebron(Ellicott City, Md.), where he combined for 19 sacks in his junior and senior seasons. He rated as the No. 6 weak-side defensive end in the nation and the 11th-best prospect overall in Maryland for the 2005-06 recruiting cycle. Schools besides Penn State that offered him included Florida, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Virginia.
After committing to the Nittany Lions, Maybin became one of the foundational members of Penn State's outstanding 2006 recruiting class. It ranked seventh in the nation and No. 1 in the Big Ten.
HAPPY VALLEY HIGHLIGHTS
Tipping the scales at about 210 pounds when he arrived in Happy Valley, Maybin redshirted as a true freshman in 2006 to add weight and muscle. But program insiders said he was a terror as a pass-rusher on the foreign team. He showed glimpses of that talent as a backup defensive end in 2007, playing in every game while logging 12 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
But few could have predicted what would happen next, as Maybin had one of the most impressive breakout seasons ever by a Nittany Lion. Still only a redshirt sophom*ore in 2008, he exploded for 20 tackles for loss and 12 sacks while forcing three fumbles. He earned consensus first-team All-America and first-team, All-Big Ten honors for his effort.
At the time, an argument could have been made that Maybin was not physically ready to depart for the NFL. But with three seasons (including the redshirt) at PSU in his pocket and very high expectations for where he would be taken in the 2009 NFL Draft, Maybin really had no choice but to go.
It seemed to be the right move when he was taken by the Buffalo Bills with the 11th overall pick.
BEYONDCOLLEGE
Though Maybin beefed up to about 250 pounds for the 2009 NFL Combine, he had trouble maintaining that weight during his NFL career. He also got off to a rocky start in Buffalo by holding out and missing all of his first training camp. A fair argument could be made that he never recovered.
Maybin played in all 16 games as a rookie but did not register a sack. He had 16 tackles. That would prove to be his most successful season with the Bills, as he made one start in 11 games in 2010 but made only seven tackles. He was waived by the Bills in the preseason of 2011.
The New York Jets then signed him to the league minimum, cut him, then signed him again. Maybin finally gained some traction in 2011, making a team-high six sacks and forcing four fumbles.
But his production fell way off in 2012, and he was cut in November of that year. Maybin signed with Cincinnati in 2013 but did not make it through training camp. His NFL career was over. He played one game with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL that season before announcing his retirement. Despite having a short NFL career,Maybin earned nearly $12.5 million, according to sportrac.com.
Maybin is now 36 years old.
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Previous Numbers
60 - Matt Millen
61 -Stefen Wisniewski62 - Michal Menet
63 - Alex Birchmeier
64- Eagan Boyer
65 - Miles Dieffenbach66 - Drew Shelton
67 -Kareem McKenzie68 - Anthony Donkoh
69 -Floyd Wedderburn70 - Garrett Sexton
71 - Vega Ioane
72 - Nolan Rucci
73 - Caleb Brewer74 - J'ven Williams
75 - Eric Shrive
76 - Steve Smear
77 - Sal Wormley
78 - Mike Munchak79 - Addison Penn
80 - Mehki Flowers
81 - Kyle Brady
82 - Kenny Jackson83 - Joe Jurevicius84 - Peter Gonzalez85 - Luke Reynolds86 - Brenton Stange
87 - Andrew Rappleyea88 -Jerry Cross89 -Dave Robinson90 -Liam Andrews91 -Dvon Ellies and Chase Meyer92 -Smith Vilbert93 -Sander Sahaydak94 -Ryan Barker and De'Andre Cook95 -Jordan Mayer and Riley Thompson96 -Immanuel Iyke97 -T.A. Cunningham98 -Jordan Stout99 -Coziah Izzard100-Meet the Penn State transfer class
