*Pat Freiermuth, Penn State Football News: Draft Scout Player News

10/28/20 - TE *Pat Freiermuth, Jr/2021, Penn State

Almost forgotten Saturday in the disappointment of defeat for Penn State in its season-opening overtime loss to Indiana was a career-defining accolade for redshirt junior tight end Pat Freiermuth. On the Nittany Lions' first drive of the contest, Freiermuth hauled in a 2-yard touchdown from redshirt junior quarterback Sean Clifford. The score put Penn State on the board first, but more significantly, it was Freiermuth's 16th career touchdown catch. It allowed him to break former star tight end Mike Gesicki's record for the most career touchdowns by a tight end in program history. Freiermuth didn't speak about the record hours after the loss on Saturday, but he's since had time to reflect on his accomplishment. Now, the 2019 All-Big Ten selection is out to help the Nittany Lions get back on track as they get set to take on Ohio State on Saturday.

"I'm thankful and appreciative for the whole program and the whole staff who helped me get to this point of being able to break that record," Freiermuth said Tuesday. "It's a great honor to be a record-holder at Penn State in such a great, established program. I'm always going to be blessed to be a part of this program." But head coach James Franklin said he believes Freiermuth would've traded breaking the record for a "different result" on Saturday. "For us, with team success comes individual recognition," Franklin said. "I think that's how our players approach it, and I think that's how the staff approaches it. For us, it's everything we possibly can do to get a win." Freiermuth didn't spend much time basking in the glory of his milestone, either. While he mentioned the record "means the world" to him, he said he still has work to do and wants to put his "head down and grind." - Centre Times

Jr/2021