Back to the Penn State Nittany Lions Newsfeed

Here’s how Penn State will replace Miles Sanders, early NFL draft departures in 2019

Penn State running back Ricky Slade outruns a Kentucky defender during the Citrus bowl on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019 at Camping World Stadium. Abby Drey adrey@centredaily.com

Starting spots are up for grabs in Happy Valley.

On Thursday, Miles Sanders became Penn State’s fifth player to declare early for the 2019 NFL draft. He joins Shareef Miller, Connor McGovern, Ryan Bates and Kevin Givens in that category.

The departures of Sanders, Miller and McGovern were expected; Givens’ and Bates’ decisions were not. Either way, they need to be replaced in 2019.

Here’s an early look at who might fill the starting roles left behind by those who bolted for the NFL.