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History of Central Pennsylvania colleges in the NFL Draft

Amber Charnoff
·5 min read

PENNSYLVANIA (WHTM) – It’s time for the biggest event of the NFL offseason: the draft.

Hundreds of college football players across the country will have their dreams fulfilled over the next three days, April 25-27, as they are selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Some Midstate Colleges have been represented in NFL drafts past including:

Millersville

Millersville has had three players drafted in the NFL Draft:

  • 1971 NFL Draft – LB Ray Garganes – Round 17, Pick 426 to the Chicago Bears

Garganes was the captain of the Millersville football team and earned All-Conference NAIA All-American while with the Marauders.

  • 1975 NFL Draft – RB Dennis Booker – Round 10, Pick 252 to the Dallas Cowboys

Booker led the Marauders in rushing yards in 1973 with 670 yards.

  • 1981 NFL Draft – RB Robb Riddick – Round 9, Pick 241 to the Buffalo Bills

Riddick went on to play eight seasons with the Buffalo Bills, appearing in 78 games and starting nine. Riddick rushed for 1,341 yards in his career, scoring 21 touchdowns. He also scored one playoff touchdown for Buffalo in 1988.

At Millersville Riddick was a three-time All-PSAC player and Kodak All-America First Team selection. He holds the record for the most career yards per game for any Marauder.

Shippensburg

Shippensburg has had one alumnus be drafted in the NFL Draft. Punter Steve Ecker was chosen in the 14th round, 201st overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1966 NFL Draft.

Ecker stayed with the Falcons in the preseason but did not make the team.

At Shippensburg Ecker set an NCAA Division II record in 1965 in his senior season when he averaged 19.1 yards per punt. Ecker had a career average of 46.2 yards per punt at Shippensburg, which is still the school record.

Ecker was also the quarterback of the 1964 team and became the first Red Raider to pass for more than 1,000 yards in one season (1,241 yards). In the last game of that season, Ecker set a school record when he passed for 389 yards, gaining 423 yards in total offense. That record stood for 19 years.

In his senior season, Ecker served as a team captain.

After college Ecker played for the Harrisburg Capitals, coached football for seven years and baseball for five years, taught in the South Middleton School District, and became a PIAA official for football, basketball, and baseball.

Franklin & Marshall

Franklin & Marshall has had three players drafted in the NFL Draft:

  • 1941 NFL Draft – T Alex Schibanoff – Round 14, Pick 125 to the Detroit Lions

Schibanoff appeared in eight games, starting six, across two seasons in the NFL. Schibanoff was named to the Little All-American Football Team in 1940 while at Franklin & Marshall. He was a two-sport athlete, participating in track & field as well where he won the shotput at the Middle Atlantic Meet in 1941.

He went on to serve in the U.S. Navy during WWII as a patrol torpedo boat commander.

Darrah left football after being drafted because of having seizures as a result of a concussion. He went on to become the Executive Director of the Dayton branch of the Boys Club of America. Darrah was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and it was suggested after a neurologist ordered an MRI that he had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), according to the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

Lebanon Valley

Lebanon Valley has had one player selected in the NFL Draft.

In the 1971 NFL Draft LB Ed Thomas was selected in the 9th round, 226 overall by the New York Giants.

Thomas was an all-state defensive end and helped lead Lebanon Valley to the 1969 MAC Championship.

Dickinson

Dickinson has had one player chosen in the NFL Draft.

(Original Caption) Jim Thorpe, (L), one of the greatest football players of all time, watches Doug Rehor, a Dickinson College sophomore star, who was leading as small college passer in the country, as the latter practiced for Dickinson’s game with Gettysburg. Thorpe declared, “the boy’s a great passer–a natural.”
(Original Caption) Jim Thorpe, (L), one of the greatest football players of all time, watches Doug Rehor, a Dickinson College sophomore star, who was leading as small college passer in the country, as the latter practiced for Dickinson’s game with Gettysburg. Thorpe declared, “the boy’s a great passer–a natural.”

B Doug Rehor was chosen in round 13, 123 overall by the Detroit Lions in the 1994 draft.

Gettysburg

Gettysburg has had one player selected in the NFL Draft.

Quarterback Jim Ward was drafted in the 14th round, 215 overall by the Baltimore Colts in the 1966 NFL Draft. Ward played for the Colts in 1967 and 1968 and played with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1971, spending a total of nine years in the NFL.

At Gettysburg in 1965 he set 12 school records and was voted the most valuable player in the Middle Atlantic Conference. Ward led the conference in total offense, passing, punting, and scoring. He was also named the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the year.

Ward was the second-leading scorer and Pennsylvania and was award the Maxwell Club Award twice.

Ward also played baseball at Gettysburg and was the conference’s leading hitter.

Bucknell

A neighbor of Central Pennsylvania, Bucknell has had 25 players selected in the NFL Draft since 1939. Most recently, Julie’n Davenport was drafted in 2017 by the Houston Texans in round four, 130 overall.

Davenport played for Houston, Miami and Indianapolis from 2017-2021. The Bucknell alumnus appeared in 60 games, starting 32.

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