Was Lavar the most "Freakish" athlete who wore a Penn State football uniform?

[Jerademan74]

OK, although some don't agree, I rest my case that Lavar WAS, and still is the most Freakish player to ever wear a Penn State football uniform. Just watch those highlight tapes and he will remind you of Lawrence Taylor in his prime with the NY Giants. Very few players have the courage to play with such abandoned recklessness unless they had those freaky talents that Lavar did!

 

[dawgduice]

I do know "some" say he was a bust in the NFL. But, if seem recall he only really played four seasons and was All Pro in three of them. Then the knee and ACL stuff ended his career. I know he hung around for a few more years but was only a shell. Dan Conner (not a Lavar but pretty good) had a similar fate with injuries. It appears as though Lee may be in the same mold.
Imagine Lavar IF he had been blessed with Poz's staying power.
I, for one always give a pass for injuries in "judging" careers.

 

[LafayetteBear]

40 does not determine the better athlete. Arrington was also consistently running 4.3something heading into the combine. He was determined to shock the world and choked a bit. Courtney was too robotic, which was a big criticism of his NFL days. If he played more reckless, his athletic ability might have showed up more to rival LaVar's freakish ability.

C'mon, dude. Arrington was a flat out specimen, but running the forty in the 4.3's?! With his size and musculature? I doubt it. I don't think even Bo Jackson ran in the 4.3's.

 

[oracle11]

I guess that no one here was around long enough to remember Bruce Clark. Bruce set the bench press record at PSU of over 500 lbs. While a defensive tackle he held his high school's record in the polevault ! Joe said that he was such an athlete that he could have played any position at PSU. He is the only player that Joe asked to go at half speed in practice. Joe also said that he was so powerful that he was the only player that he had ever seen who he felt was capable of actually killing someone with a legal hit on the field. This is the reason that he was asked to go at half speed in practice. Sounds pretty "freakish" to me.

Most players of an earlier era would tell you that they have never seen an better athlete or have been hit harder than by Dave Robinson. Dave had what the coaches referred to as "shock". If you played the game you may understand the term.

 

[Jerademan74]

I guess that no one here was around long enough to remember Bruce Clark. Bruce set the bench press record at PSU of over 500 lbs. While a defensive tackle he held his high school's record in the polevault ! Joe said that he was such an athlete that he could have played any position at PSU. He is the only player that Joe asked to go at half speed in practice. Joe also said that he was so powerful that he was the only player that he had ever seen who he felt was capable of actually killing someone with a legal hit on the field. This is the reason that he was asked to go at half speed in practice. Sounds pretty "freakish" to me.

Most players of an earlier era would tell you that they have never seen an better athlete or have been hit harder than by Dave Robinson. Dave had what the coaches referred to as "shock". If you played the game you may understand the term.

I remember watching both Bruce Clark and Dave Robinson. I also remember Dennis Onkotz, John Skorupan, Shane Conlan, Mike Reid, POZ, etc, and also remember how hard some of our smaller CB's could hit. They were all fantastic players, but I don't think any of them had the same closing speed on the ball carrier that Lavar had with such impact on a play and the ultimate impact of a game! That Texas A&M game was won almost singlehandedly by Lavar Arrington. He turned 3 potential TD passes into INT's to seal the shutout of a very good TA&M team.

 

[BarryPSU]

No. Dave Robinson

Not only was he a great All American at Penn State, he had a great career with the Vince Lombardi Green Bay Packers.

 

[fairgambit]

Not only was he a great All American at Penn State, he had a great career with the Vince Lombardi Green Bay Packers.

Growing up, and before I became a Penn State fan, I was a Dave Robinson fan. He was one of the best ever, no doubt.

 

[john4psu]

Lavar was like a heat seeking missile out there. Amazing closing speed.

 

[Raffycorn]

C'mon, dude. Arrington was a flat out specimen, but running the forty in the 4.3's?! With his size and musculature? I doubt it. I don't think even Bo Jackson ran in the 4.3's.

LaVar didn't go to the combine and he and Courtney Brown only attended the 2000 PSU Pro Day, but this website has LaVar running a 4.49 and Brown running a 4.53 at the Pro Day. http://www.footballsfuture.com/2000/workouts.html. I'd be genuinely curious if anyone is able to dig up more measureables from both Arrington and Brown at the 2000 Pro Day; I think they're pretty easily the two best pure athletes who have worn the blue and white in the past 30 years certainly, and right up there all-time.

 

[psu1969a]

While I agree to a certain extent, LaVar was more than an effective linebacker at the NFL level until his injuries. He was an All-Pro three times in his six seasons, and I'd argue that that trajectory would have continued had he not hurt his knee and torn his Achilles. I think had he had a full career, he's easily in the Hall of Fame conversation at both the college and pro levels. Even the best football players in the history of the game get beaten on occasion, and LaVar was no different.

Lavar was a good athlete, but a lousy team player. Why else did Redskins unload him? He was a pariah.

 

[Raffycorn]

Lavar was a good athlete, but a lousy team player. Why else did Redskins unload him? He was a pariah.

I was under the impression that LaVar played 16 out of 32 games over two years due to injury, and I was also under the impression that LaVar was the one who paid Washington millions of dollars to get out of his contract because of conflicts with coaches like an over the hill Joe Gibbs and the (now infamous) Gregg Williams - and that's on top of the $6M in bonus money Washington and Arrington's agent cheated from him. I'd also say that Arrington was enough of a "team player" that Washington named him one of the 80 greatest players in franchise history.