After a weekend of attending two fantastic events hosted by Lions Legacy Club, I’ve been inspired to dive back into the pool of potential NIL partnerships for PSU football players. As a reminder, the fun with LLC this month is not over, as the signed merch sweepstakes is still ongoing! Enter here until the contest ends on April 21. There is also a meet & greet event this Saturday in Annapolis, which you can register for here.
Last time I penned this type of blog, I went mostly with wordplay based on player names, so this go-around, I tried to think a little more outside the box. Let me know if you’ve come up with any new ones too!
Drew Allar: Barnes & Noble
While I found myself internally screaming “Let Drew throw it deep!” the entire game on Saturday, I did enjoy watching him go diligently through his reads — similar to how I did in my Kindle era last spring, before it was time for me to start daydrinking again. I chose Barnes & Noble because it is the bookstore mentioned in Mean Girls, and since Penn State football is a “cult,” he should tie himself to the other cult classic that I know way too much about.
Drew has actually already published a children’s book, so it’s perfect! Get a copy here.
Kalen King: Master Lock
Have you ever not gone to the gym for months, finally worked up the motivation to get back in there, and then forgotten the combination to your lock because it hasn’t been used in ages? And you’re just standing there red-faced, covered in sweat, fighting for your life, unable to open it? Just me? Okay. Well, it’s embarrassing, and no one’s even watching. Any attempt to throw at Kalen King will end much worse than this, in front of considerably more people… with the exception maybe being the game at Northwestern.
Landon Tengwall: Crest Whitestrips
Prior to this weekend, I’d said hi to Landon in passing at the Rose Bowl, but Friday night at the LLC event was the first time I actually got to chat with him. What a great kid — so kindhearted and personable! He’s absolutely going to skyrocket up draft boards one day when he starts giving through those pre-draft interviews. As far as I know, “smile megawatts” is not a trait that is currently taken into account when creating prospect profiles, but it should be, for Landon’s sake. I’ll hit up Lance Zierlein and see what he thinks.
Landon has published a children’s book as well, and signed copies are still available! Get one here while you still can.
Keaton Ellis: Hometown Apparel
If you’ve never heard of this brand, it’s not hard to figure out what they do. They’re a company that makes clothing representing pretty much any town where you could’ve possibly grown up. As a fifth-year senior, captaining the hometown team where his dad also played, Keaton feels like the perfect representative for our team. While I’ve never felt the urge to plaster York, PA across my chest, I do own a purple crewneck from there that says “HALSEY.” Apparently, that’s a town in Nebraska, not just one of my favorite artists. I’d never have known this otherwise, so clearly, they’re also an educational brand.
Beau Pribula: York Barbell
Just because I don’t feel the need to plaster “YORK” across my chest does not mean that I’m not going to let everyone know every time a prominent athlete from my hometown is making headlines. While Beau may not win the starting QB job over our lord and savior Drew Allar, I have heard that he has played well enough to likely earn playing time in some form or another. They say that backup QB is the best job on the team, but this is no time to get comfortable. He’s going to need to keep hitting the weight room for when his opportunity presents itself.
Shoutout to Jay for this idea, and I’ll even take it one step further. The t-shirts absolutely need to be made, but I’d also like to see this guy on the side of the highway replaced with Beau. I’m a proponent of getting kids in the weight room sooner than later, and if a kid sees Beau on the side of the road, they’re gonna want their parents to stop in the store and buy them their first set of five-pounders.
Olu Fashanu: Oreos
Captain Olu was another one of the players I had the pleasure of meeting this weekend, and he also did not disappoint, which was no surprise to me. A few months ago, a group of my internet friends (a common theme with me, if you haven’t noticed yet) had the chance to attend an NIL event with him and Drew, and had nothing but great things to say about both of them.
One of the group members, Mel, is famous for her “Oreo drops,” a chocolatey delicacy that she makes and brings to tailgates. When she swung by mine on Saturday and dropped off a few bags, I felt like I was part of a drug deal. They’re like crack.
She brought them to the NIL event, and the boys, as most people are, were enormous fans. On Friday, Olu raved about them again. He told us that he brought a bag of them to his friend’s place, and upon leaving, realized he’d left them behind. He immediately called his friend and told him to “put them in the freezer and don’t touch them.” Oreo drops are serious business. Maybe we could even get Mel to start a business and have Olu be the face of the company. If not, I think Oreos (Olu-os?) are a good start.
Chop Robinson: Omaha Steaks
When Demeioun Robinson was born, he was a whopping 14 pounds, and thus, the nickname “Pork Chop” was born with him. He’s since shortened it to “Chop,” and it’s one of the best football names I’ve ever heard. If one of these big-name food retailers doesn’t take advantage of that star power, they’re crazier than the Maryland fans who thought they “wouldn’t miss him” when he rightfully ditched them after one season. In addition to selling steaks, chicken, and pork chops, Omaha Steaks does delivery. Imagine you ordered some pork chops, and Chop himself knocked on your door with your food in hand. After realizing he’s not going to drop you like a Big Ten quarterback, it would be a welcome surprise.
Cristian Driver: Toftrees Golf Resort
When you see the name “Driver,” your first instinct may be that we should be hooking Cristian up with a car. However, if you’ve seen some of the videos that the players post of each other’s golf swings, your mind may be heading in another direction. And this is coming from someone who is very bad at both golf and driving. This partnership is one that could be beneficial to the entire team. Not only would it set them up with Instagram stories from the driving range that they’d be proud of, but it’d also sharpen the skills they’ll need for closing business deals after their NFL careers are over.
Sup Caroline? 