It’s finally time for some NFL football, folks.

That’s right, baby. The NFL’s regular season kicks off at 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, September 10 when the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans go head-to-head at Arrowhead Stadium.

Currently, Penn State has the fifth-most representation on NFL rosters, sitting behind only Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, and Florida. According to Penn State, the 38 Nittany Lions on opening day rosters are the university’s most since 2006.

You have seasoned veterans Sean Lee and Robbie Gould, star players Saquon Barkley and Chris Godwin, and rookies Yetur Gross-Matos and KJ Hamler across the league. Those are just a few of the many Nittany Lions ready to take the field this week.

Penn Staters On 53-Man Rosters

• RB Saquon Barkley — New York Giants
• LB Cam Brown — New York Giants
• DL Austin Johnson — New York Giants
• RB Miles Sanders — Philadelphia Eagles
• OL Connor McGovern — Dallas Cowboys
• S Troy Apke — Washington Football Team
• WR Chris Godwin — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• OL AQ Shipley — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• OL Donovan Smith — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• DE Yetur Gross-Matos — Carolina Panthers
• DE Shareef Miller — Carolina Panthers
• CB Amani Oruwariye — Detroit Lions
• LB/FB Jason Cabinda — Detroit Lions
• TE Jesse James — Detroit Lions
• WR Allen Robinson — Chicago Bears
• WR/S Dan Chisena — Minnesota Vikings
• S Adrian Amos — Green Bay Packers
• DL Kevin Givens — San Francisco 49ers
• K Robbie Gould — San Francisco 49ers
• S Nick Scott — Los Angeles Rams
• K Sam Ficken — New York Jets
• WR Chris Hogan (Penn State men’s lacrosse!) — New York Jets
• OL Ryan Bates — Buffalo Bills
• TE Mike Gesicki — Miami Dolphins
• OL Stefen Wisniewski — Pittsburgh Steelers
• S/LB Marcus Allen — Pittsburgh Steelers
• QB Trace McSorley — Baltimore Ravens
• CB John Reid — Houston Texans
• DL Jack Crawford — Tennessee Titans
• DL DaQuan Jones — Tennessee Titans
• WR KJ Hamler — Denver Broncos
• WR DaeSean Hamilton — Denver Broncos
• DL Carl Nassib — Las Vegas Raiders

Penn Staters On Practice Squads

• TE Ross Travis (Penn State hoops!) — New York Jets
• TE Nick Bowers — Las Vegas Raiders
• DL Robert Windsor — Indianapolis Colts
• CB Trevor Williams — Philadelphia Eagles
• QB/TE Tommy Stevens — New Orleans Saints
• WR Juwan Johnson — New Orleans Saints

Penn Staters On Injured Reserve/Opted Out

• LB Sean Lee (injured reserve) — Dallas Cowboys
• P Blake Gillikin (injured reserve) — New Orleans Saints
• S Jordan Lucas (opted out of season) — Chicago Bears

Both Lee and Gillikin are eligible to return to their teams’ active rosters after three weeks.

Head Coaches

Former Penn State football head coach Bill O’Brien is entering his seventh season as the head coach of the Houston Texans. O’Brien coached at Penn State for two seasons in 2012 and 2013, replacing head coach Joe Paterno. He was introduced as the Texans’ head coach in January 2014.

Penn State football letterman Matt Rhule is entering his first season as the Carolina Panthers’ head coach after getting the job earlier this year. Rhule, who played football at State College Area High School, walked ran on to Penn State football in 1994. He has prior head coaching experience on the college level with Temple (2013-16) and Baylor (2017-19).