Font ResizeHis veins bulged. His faced turned red.
People were in danger.
Touchdowns? He loved his Lions. They lost, and that was the only thing that mattered.
Scary - in a good way.
Recently, Rivals.com named its "scariest" defenders in the nation - and Penn State rush end Maurice Evans came in at No. 6. (USC linebacker Rey Maualuga was No. 1).
Scary as in intimidating, dominating and physically imposing - to go with production on the field.
We like the idea, with a little tinkering.
So my "scariest" Penn State player list over the past 15 years (the players I've written about) includes offense and defense.
Devastating hitters and blockers. Pounding runners. Game-changers, all of them.
How do you define scary?
What are your signature moments?
Here are mine:
10. James Boyd, 2000 ... The guy was a head hunter in the secondary. Was he among the best? Probably not. But it was worth watching him gather steam to violently
separate the ball from a receiver.
9. Witman, 1995 ... Sure, he was a wipe-out blocker and snowplow of a runner. But he was known almost as much for breathing fire on and off the field, a bit over the edge, so to speak. Tattoos completed the image.
8. Curtis Enis, 1997 ... He could punish defenders
7. Aaron Harris, 1999 . . . The human pinball bounced off some would-be tacklers and ran over the rest. And he had nifty moves before his knee injury. But punishing? Check out his five-minute Internet clip on YouTube.com.
6. Courtney Brown, 1999 ... It often took two or three blockers (with a little bit of illegal holding) to fend off his rushes from the outside. He started disrupting backfields and putting fear into quarterbacks as a freshman.
5. Kyle Brady, 1994 ... A very large blocking and pass-catching machine. Defenses never had an answer for any part of his game, including his speed. His wicked blocking was underrated until the 1995 offensive line performed below expectations without him.
4. Michael Robinson, 2005 ... Toughness, speed, power - all personified in that one, brutal sideline blast he put on a Minnesota defensive back in Beaver Stadium. From a quarterback! Robinson simply walked away from the hit. The Golden Gopher never played again.
3. Tamba Hali, 2005 ... He delivered one of the most memorable hits in Lion history. Who will forget him slamming into Ohio State's Troy Smith, sending the quarterback into a cartwheel, the ball flying loose, the game won? A couple of weeks later at Illinois he actually slowed up on a bum-rush sack, like he was afraid of inflicting irreparable damage on the quarterback.
2. Paul Posluszny, 2006 ... It's all there. Playing through shoulder pain that nearly made him pass out on the sideline. Enjoying that bloody gash on his nose each week because his helmet didn't fit. And that leaping, goal-line tackle against Minnesota.
1. LaVar Arrington, 1999 ... Everything he did came with force, drama and intimidation. From scrapping with the Pitt punter, to jawing with a Michigan lineman to blocking kicks, hurdling running backs and making the famous "LaVar Leap."
How do you define scary?
Larry Johnson running with attitude? Ki-Jana Carter running away from everyone? Chris "The Assassin" Harrell hitting with passion?
Or maybe Evans, with all of those sacks, throwing Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis around like a rag doll last fall.
He's not quite there yet.
But Evans is on his way.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the Daily Record/Sunday News. Reach him at 771-2104 or fbodani@ydr.com.
YOUR THOUGHTS?
Penn State writer Frank Bodani has made his picks for the top 10 "scariest" Penn State players over the past 15 years, now tell us who makes your list.
Send your top 10 most dominating Nittany Lions - any era, offense or defense - to Sports Editor Chris Otto at cotto@ydr.com or 1891 Loucks Road, York 17408.
