Penn State honored late program great Franco Harris by wearing No. 34 jerseys while arriving at the Rose Bowl for a matchup against Utah on Monday.
Harris died overnight on Dec. 20, just days before the Steelers honored his career with the franchise by retiring his No. 32 jersey. He was 72 years old.
Before he went on to have a Hall of Fame career in the NFL, Harris attended Penn State from 1968 to ’71. He wore the No. 34 while playing for the Nittany Lions.
Prominently leading the touching tribute was Penn State coach James Franklin, who got off the bus wearing Harris’s jersey and was later seen on the field with it still on.
Harris’s career at Penn State got off to a slow start, as he spent most of his first year with the program as a blocker. However, over the next three seasons, he developed into a star, amassing 2,002 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns across 31 games. He led the team in scoring in 1970.
The final three seasons for Harris at Penn State were enough to prompt the Steelers to select him with the 13th pick in the 1972 NFL draft. He went on to spend nearly his entire career in Pittsburgh, winning four Super Bowl titles, earning the Super Bowl IX MVP, making nine Pro Bowls and eventually being elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in ’90.
No. 11 Penn State (10–2) will have one more opportunity to honor Harris on the field Monday as it seeks to end the 2022 season on a high note. To do so, the Nittany Lions will have to get past No. 8 Utah (10–3) in Pasadena.
The Rose Bowl kicks off at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN.
