Father’s Day Tradition Runs Deep in Happy Valley<\/strong><\/h2>\nThe Pittmans and Their Unbeaten Legacy<\/strong><\/h3>\nPerhaps no father and son pairing exemplifies the Nittany Lion tradition like Charlie<\/a> and Tony Pittman<\/a>. Charlie starred at running back from 1967 to 1969, leading undefeated squads under Joe Paterno. Decades later, Tony suited up at cornerback from 1991 to 1994 and mirrored his father\u2019s unblemished legacy.<\/p>\nTogether, the games they started combined for a record of 45-0-1, a staggering fact chronicled in their 2007 book, Playing for Paterno<\/em>. A Father and Son\u2019s Recollections of Playing for JoePa.<\/em> The Pittmans never lost a game they started. Their record remains an unmatched bond between eras and a Father\u2019s Day stat line few can rival.<\/p>\nThe Suheys and Higgins Carry the First Family Legacy<\/strong><\/h3>\nNo lineage runs deeper than the Higgins and Suhey family, often called the first family of Penn State football. Bob Higgins played and later coached the Nittany Lions, guiding the team through the 1930s and 1940s. His daughter, Ginger, married Steve Suhey, an All-American guard in the 1940s.<\/p>\n
The couple\u2019s sons \u2014 Larry, Paul, and Matt Suhey \u2014 all became lettermen in the 1970s. Matt went on to carve out a nine-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears. Matt\u2019s son, Joe Suhey<\/a>, kept the tradition alive at running back from 2007 to 2010. Five generations have connected through Penn State blue. The family\u2019s deep ties to the university earned them the title of Penn State royalty in a Centre Daily Times feature from April 2013. Their story represents the heart of Penn State football\u2019s Father\u2019s Day legacy, where family names endure across generations.<\/p>\nLaVar Arrington II Keeps the No. 11 Legacy Alive<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"Penn](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/USATSI_26023653_168400536_lowres-1024x682.jpg\")
Photo courtesy: Dan Rainville \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen LaVar Arrington<\/a> terrorized Big Ten quarterbacks in the late 1990s, he became an icon in Happy Valley. This fall, his son, LaVar Arrington II, begins his own journey as a freshman linebacker. He will wear the same iconic No. 11, continuing the \u201cStix City\u201d tradition<\/a> at Linebacker U<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe younger Arrington committed to Penn State in July 2024, adding to a legacy built on explosiveness and elite linebacker tradition. \u201cHe wants to carve his own path, but we\u2019ve talked about what it means to wear that number,\u201d his father told On3. As part of the next wave in Penn State\u2019s family-driven football legacy, Arrington II strengthens the program\u2019s bond with its past this Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
More Nittany Lion Families Share the Spotlight<\/strong><\/h3>\nBeyond the marquee names, Penn State\u2019s roster features a rich mix of fathers and sons who passed down more than football technique. They passed down a purpose.<\/p>\n
\n- Fran Ganter<\/a> (1968\u201370), long-time coach and administrator, saw both sons Chris Ganter<\/a> (2002\u201304) and Jason Ganter<\/a> (2005\u201307) suit up in blue and white.<\/li>\n
- Mike Guman,<\/a> a bruising back in the late 1970s, watched his son Andrew Guman<\/a> become an Academic All-American safety in the early 2000s.<\/li>\n
- Tom Hull (1971\u201373) passed the linebacker legacy to Mike Hull<\/a>, who became a cornerstone of the 2014 defense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Even coaches see their family trees bloom inside Beaver Stadium. Terry Smith<\/a>, Penn State\u2019s associate head coach, defensive backs coach and former wideout, played in the early 1990s and helped guide his stepson Justin King<\/a> to stardom in the mid 2000s.<\/p>\nJay Paterno and the Ultimate Father-Son Connection<\/strong><\/h3>\nPaterno, a quarterback on the Penn State roster from 1986 to 1990, had the rare opportunity to play under his father, legend Joe Paterno. Jay served mostly as a reserve but earned a varsity letter in his senior year. More influentially, he went on to coach on his father\u2019s staff for 17 seasons, shaping talents like Michael Robinson and Daryll Clark before entering the family business as a Penn State trustee and author. Few programs can claim such an intertwined legacy of leadership and lineage as Penn State football, especially on Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n
The Rucci Family Builds a Legacy in the Trenches<\/strong><\/h3>\nOffensive line tradition spans two generations in the Rucci family. Todd Rucci anchored Penn State\u2019s offensive line<\/a> in the early 1990s before playing eight seasons in the NFL. His son, Nolan Rucci,<\/a> a redshirt senior, transferred to Penn State after beginning his career at Wisconsin. Nolan, a five-star recruit, will battle redshirt sophomore Anthony Donkoh for the starting right tackle job through camp.<\/p>\nThe Wisniewski Family Represents Generational Grit<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe Penn State lineage runs deep in the Wisniewski family. Leo Wisniewski starred as a nose tackle from 1979\u201381 before a brief NFL career. His brother, Steve Wisniewski<\/a>, became an eight-time Pro Bowler with the Raiders after earning All\u2011American honors at PSU. The torch then passed to Stefen Wisniewski, a three-time Academic All\u2011American and 2010 first-team All\u2011American, later winning two Super Bowls in the NFL.<\/p>\nChoosing to Continue the Legacy at Penn State<\/h3>\n
Not every player comes from a Penn State bloodline, but the values of family, loyalty, and hard work remain constant. \u201cPenn State teaches you to be a better man,\u201d said Isaiah Humphries, a former Nittany Lion whose father, Leonard Humphries<\/a>, played cornerback in the early 1990s. \u201cMy dad never pushed me to go there. I chose it because of what it stood for,\u201d he told Blue White Illustrated in December 2017.<\/p>\nGregg Garrity Jr<\/a>. carried on a family tradition that traces back to one of Penn State\u2019s most iconic moments. His father, Gregg Garrity Sr<\/a>., caught the final touchdown in the Nittany Lions\u2019 1982 national championship win over Georgia. Decades later, Garrity Jr. earned his own spot on the roster, choosing Penn State not out of obligation, but out of pride in the name and the moment that helped define it.<\/p>\nA Legacy That Grows Each Year<\/strong><\/h3>\nAs Penn State continues to recruit nationally and develop NFL talent, its family tree keeps expanding. Whether through bloodlines or mentorship, the program’s legacy endures.<\/p>\n
This Father\u2019s Day, Penn State fans can look beyond the stat sheets and toward the stories. These are tales of fathers who coached, inspired, and walked the same halls their sons have walked. In Happy Valley, football isn\u2019t just a game. It\u2019s a generational legacy that resonates on Father\u2019s Day for Penn State families across the country.<\/p>\n
Main Image: Dan Rainville \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In State College, the ties that bind are more than blue and white. They stretch across generations, linking fathers and sons through the echoes of Beaver Stadium, fall Saturdays, and the shared pride of representing Penn State football. Today, Penn State football Father\u2019s Day traditions come to life as the program celebrates its generational legacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5544,"featured_media":74527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2,35610],"tags":[35191,35200,35196,796,35193,35195,35194,309,35199,35192,35197,35198],"class_list":["post-74518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-featured","category-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-bob-higgins","tag-isaiah-humphries","tag-jay-paterno","tag-joe-paterno","tag-larry-suhey","tag-matt-suhey","tag-paul-suhey","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-stefen-wisniewski","tag-steve-suhey","tag-todd-rucci","tag-tom-hull"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5544"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74518"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74529,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74518\/revisions\/74529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Perhaps no father and son pairing exemplifies the Nittany Lion tradition like Charlie<\/a> and Tony Pittman<\/a>. Charlie starred at running back from 1967 to 1969, leading undefeated squads under Joe Paterno. Decades later, Tony suited up at cornerback from 1991 to 1994 and mirrored his father\u2019s unblemished legacy.<\/p>\n Together, the games they started combined for a record of 45-0-1, a staggering fact chronicled in their 2007 book, Playing for Paterno<\/em>. A Father and Son\u2019s Recollections of Playing for JoePa.<\/em> The Pittmans never lost a game they started. Their record remains an unmatched bond between eras and a Father\u2019s Day stat line few can rival.<\/p>\n No lineage runs deeper than the Higgins and Suhey family, often called the first family of Penn State football. Bob Higgins played and later coached the Nittany Lions, guiding the team through the 1930s and 1940s. His daughter, Ginger, married Steve Suhey, an All-American guard in the 1940s.<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s sons \u2014 Larry, Paul, and Matt Suhey \u2014 all became lettermen in the 1970s. Matt went on to carve out a nine-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears. Matt\u2019s son, Joe Suhey<\/a>, kept the tradition alive at running back from 2007 to 2010. Five generations have connected through Penn State blue. The family\u2019s deep ties to the university earned them the title of Penn State royalty in a Centre Daily Times feature from April 2013. Their story represents the heart of Penn State football\u2019s Father\u2019s Day legacy, where family names endure across generations.<\/p>\n When LaVar Arrington<\/a> terrorized Big Ten quarterbacks in the late 1990s, he became an icon in Happy Valley. This fall, his son, LaVar Arrington II, begins his own journey as a freshman linebacker. He will wear the same iconic No. 11, continuing the \u201cStix City\u201d tradition<\/a> at Linebacker U<\/a>.<\/p>\n The younger Arrington committed to Penn State in July 2024, adding to a legacy built on explosiveness and elite linebacker tradition. \u201cHe wants to carve his own path, but we\u2019ve talked about what it means to wear that number,\u201d his father told On3. As part of the next wave in Penn State\u2019s family-driven football legacy, Arrington II strengthens the program\u2019s bond with its past this Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Beyond the marquee names, Penn State\u2019s roster features a rich mix of fathers and sons who passed down more than football technique. They passed down a purpose.<\/p>\n Even coaches see their family trees bloom inside Beaver Stadium. Terry Smith<\/a>, Penn State\u2019s associate head coach, defensive backs coach and former wideout, played in the early 1990s and helped guide his stepson Justin King<\/a> to stardom in the mid 2000s.<\/p>\n Paterno, a quarterback on the Penn State roster from 1986 to 1990, had the rare opportunity to play under his father, legend Joe Paterno. Jay served mostly as a reserve but earned a varsity letter in his senior year. More influentially, he went on to coach on his father\u2019s staff for 17 seasons, shaping talents like Michael Robinson and Daryll Clark before entering the family business as a Penn State trustee and author. Few programs can claim such an intertwined legacy of leadership and lineage as Penn State football, especially on Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Offensive line tradition spans two generations in the Rucci family. Todd Rucci anchored Penn State\u2019s offensive line<\/a> in the early 1990s before playing eight seasons in the NFL. His son, Nolan Rucci,<\/a> a redshirt senior, transferred to Penn State after beginning his career at Wisconsin. Nolan, a five-star recruit, will battle redshirt sophomore Anthony Donkoh for the starting right tackle job through camp.<\/p>\n The Penn State lineage runs deep in the Wisniewski family. Leo Wisniewski starred as a nose tackle from 1979\u201381 before a brief NFL career. His brother, Steve Wisniewski<\/a>, became an eight-time Pro Bowler with the Raiders after earning All\u2011American honors at PSU. The torch then passed to Stefen Wisniewski, a three-time Academic All\u2011American and 2010 first-team All\u2011American, later winning two Super Bowls in the NFL.<\/p>\n Not every player comes from a Penn State bloodline, but the values of family, loyalty, and hard work remain constant. \u201cPenn State teaches you to be a better man,\u201d said Isaiah Humphries, a former Nittany Lion whose father, Leonard Humphries<\/a>, played cornerback in the early 1990s. \u201cMy dad never pushed me to go there. I chose it because of what it stood for,\u201d he told Blue White Illustrated in December 2017.<\/p>\n Gregg Garrity Jr<\/a>. carried on a family tradition that traces back to one of Penn State\u2019s most iconic moments. His father, Gregg Garrity Sr<\/a>., caught the final touchdown in the Nittany Lions\u2019 1982 national championship win over Georgia. Decades later, Garrity Jr. earned his own spot on the roster, choosing Penn State not out of obligation, but out of pride in the name and the moment that helped define it.<\/p>\n As Penn State continues to recruit nationally and develop NFL talent, its family tree keeps expanding. Whether through bloodlines or mentorship, the program’s legacy endures.<\/p>\n This Father\u2019s Day, Penn State fans can look beyond the stat sheets and toward the stories. These are tales of fathers who coached, inspired, and walked the same halls their sons have walked. In Happy Valley, football isn\u2019t just a game. It\u2019s a generational legacy that resonates on Father\u2019s Day for Penn State families across the country.<\/p>\n Main Image: Dan Rainville \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In State College, the ties that bind are more than blue and white. They stretch across generations, linking fathers and sons through the echoes of Beaver Stadium, fall Saturdays, and the shared pride of representing Penn State football. Today, Penn State football Father\u2019s Day traditions come to life as the program celebrates its generational legacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5544,"featured_media":74527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2,35610],"tags":[35191,35200,35196,796,35193,35195,35194,309,35199,35192,35197,35198],"class_list":["post-74518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-featured","category-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-bob-higgins","tag-isaiah-humphries","tag-jay-paterno","tag-joe-paterno","tag-larry-suhey","tag-matt-suhey","tag-paul-suhey","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-stefen-wisniewski","tag-steve-suhey","tag-todd-rucci","tag-tom-hull"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5544"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74518"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74529,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74518\/revisions\/74529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Suheys and Higgins Carry the First Family Legacy<\/strong><\/h3>\n
LaVar Arrington II Keeps the No. 11 Legacy Alive<\/strong><\/h3>\n
More Nittany Lion Families Share the Spotlight<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Jay Paterno and the Ultimate Father-Son Connection<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Rucci Family Builds a Legacy in the Trenches<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Wisniewski Family Represents Generational Grit<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Choosing to Continue the Legacy at Penn State<\/h3>\n
A Legacy That Grows Each Year<\/strong><\/h3>\n