Larry Fitzgerald: ‘I Always Wanted to Be a Penn State Linebacker'

Michael David Smith

by Michael David Smith

TAMPA, Fla. -- Larry Fitzgerald has gone from the best wide receiver in college football at the University of Pittsburgh to the best wide receiver in pro football with the Arizona Cardinals. But could he have made it in the NFL if he had gotten his wish to play linebacker at Penn State?

Fitzgerald said this week that when he was a high school football player in Minnesota, he thought he'd play defense for Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. A rainstorm on his official visit to Penn State caused him to alter his plans on the recruiting trip, and that altered the course of football history.

"It was a funny story of how I ended up there," Fitzgerald said. "I was always a big Penn State fan as a child. I always liked the Big Ten being from Minnesota, but the Gophers were terrible when I was trowing up. I played linebacker too and I always liked LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short and I always wanted to be a Penn State linebacker."

Larry Fitzgerald: 'I Always Wanted to Be a Penn State Linebacker' originally appeared on Fanhouse NCAA Football Blog on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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