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USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from Pennsylvania - USA TODAY Sports compiled a list of the top college athletes from Pennsylvania for Americas 250th birthday.
- The list includes athletes from Penn State, Pittsburgh, Penn, and Villanova.
- Notable football players on the list include Tony Dorsett, Saquon Barkley, and Aaron Donald.
In the celebration of Americas 250th Birthday, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is at center stage and in the middle of the celebration.
But the state is also known for its college sports programs as American a concept as there exists.
On top of being the home to two decorated football programs on its western side in Penn State and Pittsburgh, the state also houses one of the top college basketball scenes in the country with the Big 5 Villanova, Temple, Saint Joseph's, LaSalle, Penn and Drexel in Philadelphia, which has the "Cathedral of College Basketball" at The Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
As part of Americas celebration, USA TODAY Sports college team compiled a list of the top college athletes to compete in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
These athletes don't necessarily have to be from the state, but are required to have attended college there to be considered.
So, here is the 100%, completely definitive (and surely unanimous) top 10 athletes to compete in college sports in Pennsylvania, listed alphabetically: Top 10 college athletes from Pennsylvania Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh Dorsett is one of the greatest running backs to step on the field, both in college and the NFL.
He led the Panthers to a national championship and won the Heisman Trophy his senior season in 1976, becoming Pitts first and only player to win the award.
He averaged 215 rushing yards per game in the final seven games title season en route to the programs last claimed title.
He ended his four-year career as the NCAAs all-time career rushing leader with 6,082 yards and the first major college running back to have four seasons of at least 1,000 rushing yards.
Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh One of the most elusive and explosive wide receivers in program history, Fitzgerald became an immediate impact player, finishing with 1,005 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 69 receptions in his freshman season.
He took it up to the next level the next year: 1,672 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns on 92 receptions.
That earned him Biletnikoff Award honors as the nation's top receiver and a runner-up finish in the Heisman Trophy race.
He finished with 2,677 yards and a program-record 34 touchdowns in just 26 career games.
Chuck Bednarik, Penn Bednarik needs no introduction to those versed in the history of college football.
Nicknamed "Concrete Charlie" from his NFL career, Bednarik was a true iron man for the Quakers, as he played offense and defense at center and linebacker.
He first became an All-American as a junior in 1947 when he finished seventh in the Heisman voting.
His senior seasons saw him again selected as a first-team All-American and place third in the Heisman race.
Sports Illustrated selected him its college football team of the century, and he is the namesake of the award given to the top defensive player of the year.
Jalen Brunson, Villanova One of the best point guards to play at Villanova, Brunson was one of the top players in the country when done playing for Jay Wright.
As a freshman, Brunson started in all but one game for the Wildcats during their 2016 national championship season, when he was also named Big Five Freshman of the Year.
As a sophomore, he fully took command of the offense after playing alongside Ryan Arcidiacono, becoming unanimous all-Big East pick.
He elevated his game his junior season: winning the Bob Cousy Award, which named him the country's top point guard, becoming a consensus national player of the year, and powering Villanova to its second national title in three years while averaging a careerbest 18.9 points and 4.6 assists.
PROGRAM RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12 Saquon Barkley, Penn State Barkley is regarded as one of the best running backs to come out of Penn State.
He had his first breakout year with the Nittany Lions during his sophomore season, when he ran for enjoyed career-highs in rushing yards (1,496 ) rushing touchdowns (18 ).
He capped off that season with 304 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns at the Rose Bowl vs.
Southern California, including a 79-yard touchdown run the seventh-longest rushing touchdown at the Rose Bowl at the time.
He followed that season up by becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist and one of six players in the Division I FBS level to score at least four offensive touchdowns of at least 65 yards.
He finished as the fourth Big Ten player to finish with at least 3,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in his career.
Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh When it was all said and done after four seasons, Donald had become one of the fiercest defensive linemen in the country, and one the top defensive players in Pitts history.
A three-year starter, Donald broke out as a sophomore with 16 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks.
He was even more dominant the next two seasons.
In 13 games his senior year, Donald finished with 59 tackles, 2812 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, and four forced fumbles.
The Chuck Bednarik Award winner in 2013, Donald finished with 66 career tackles for loss, the most by any FBS interior defensive lineman since the NCAA began tracking the stat in 2000.
Paul Arizin, Villanova Arizins story of becoming a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer is an all-timer.
He didn't play for his high school team or in his freshman season in college.
Known as one of the first players to extensively use the jump shot, Arizin averaged 22.0 points per game as a junior.
He scored 85 points and made 35 field goals against the Naval Air Material Center in 1949, which remain the official program records.
He upped that scoring to a nation-leading 25.3 points per game in his consensus All-America senior season.
Arizin finished with 1,648 career points, sixth most in program history, before a long NBA career and induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kelly Mazzante, Penn State Mazzante closed her Penn State career as one of the most prolific scorers in Big Ten womens basketball history.
She became the first player to lead the conference in scoring in each of her first three seasons and became the fastest player in Big Ten history to reach 1,000 points in just 47 games, a mark that now ranks fourth.
Her production.
A twotime Big Ten player of the year, Mazzante poured in 872 points as a sophomore and finished with 2,919 career points, still the Penn State record and sixth all time in the Big Ten.
She also led Penn State to four NCAA Tournament appearances, with trips to the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight in her junior and senior seasons.
Alyssa Naeher, Penn State Before becoming a two-time World Cup champion and an Olympic gold medalist with the U.S.
womens national team, Naeher was one of the top college goaltenders in the country.
A two-time All-American, Naeher posted a career 50-19-5 record in the 74 starts across here career.
She made starts in all 22 games she played in her freshman season, where she tied the program freshman record for goals-against average (0.89 goals allowed per game) and recorded eight shutouts.
Brian Westbrook, Villanova Brian Westbrook was a Championship Subdivision star at Villanova from 1998-2001, when he became one of the programs winningest players and NCAA Division I all-time career leader in all-purpose yards - a record he still holds.
Westbrook ran for 4,298 yards and 54 touchdowns in his career and became the only player at that time at any level to rush for 1,000 yards and receive for 1,000 yards in the same season as a sophomore in 1998.
He led the FCS in all-purpose yards three times and led the nation in scoring in 2001 with 28 combined touchdowns.
He was also a three-time All-American, another first he set for the program.