Sales
closes the book
Butler
grad proud of his achievements as PSU LB
BUTLER TWP— His No. 46 jersey remains packed away in his mother's bag.
Tyrell Sales is hesitant to take it out.
"I'm going to frame it and keep it forever,"said the Butler graduate
and senior Penn State linebacker. "But it's strange knowing I'm never
going to wear it again."
Sales ended his Nittany Lions football career with a 38-24 loss to USCin the
Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. He had four tackles and forced a fumble in that
game.
"Making a play like that on a big stage like that ... yeah, that was a
highlight for me,"Sales said. "The game didn't end the way we wanted
it to, but an 11-1 regular season record, Big Ten championship, playing in the
Rose Bowl?
"I can't complain about anything."
It's just difficult for the 6-foot-2, 233-pound Sales to put his Penn State
career in his rearview mirror.
"I watched a tape of our Michigan State game and got a little
emotional,"Sales admitted. "That was the last game I'll ever play in
Beaver Stadium."
Penn State won 26 of 28 games at Beaver Stadium during the four years Sales was
an active member of the team.
On the sidelines after the Rose Bowl loss, Sales said he received uplifting
comments from former Nittany Lions linebackers LaVar Arrington and Brandon
Short.
"They told me to hold my head high, that they never got to play on an 11-1
team that won the Big Ten championship,"Sales said. "That put it in
perspective for me. Those are two of the greatest linebackers to ever play at
that school.
"That helped me deal with the loss."
As rosy as his past is, Sales' future may look even better.
An academic all-American and honorable mention all-Big Ten player, Sales
graduated with a marketing degree and a 3.0 grade point average. He is three
credits shy of a second degree in media studies. He's considering taking an
online course to finish that degree.
Only Nebraska and Notre Dame had more academic all-Americans than Penn State's
40 this season.
Sales isn't playing in any college football all-star games.
"My next game day is March 19," he declared.
That is the date of Penn State football's Pro Day at Beaver Stadium. Roughly 25
NFL coaches are expected to attend as 15 Nittany Lion seniors work out for
them.
Sales was third in tackles for Penn State this season, contributing 43 solo
stops, 68 overall tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception.
"Now I'm going to work on getting ready for the next level," Sales
said. "I've played all my games, so 90 percent of it is out of my hands
now.
"I want to make a good showing at our Pro Day. I'm not going to any
combines, so I need to make that day count."
Sales said he's heard he could be drafted as high as the fifth round, as low as
the final round or be signed as a free agent after the draft.
"How I grade out at our Pro Day may determine where I fit in," he
said. "I did what I did to help my team win. We were successful and I made
so many friends and built so many memories.
"I'm hoping to get a shot. I still believe I have what it takes to enjoy a
career in the NFL."
A one-point loss at Iowa cost Penn State a shot at the national championship
this year. A heartbreaking loss to Michigan cost the Nittany Lions that chance
three years ago.
"Somebody pointed out that we were three seconds away from two unbeaten
regular seasons,"Sales said. "We still had four great seasons."
Though Penn State isn't involved in the BCStitle game, Sales still insists his
career there ended in style.
"The Rose Bowl has the biggest tradition of all the bowl games," he
said. "There were 100,000 people in the stands and our matchup with USC
was being talked about for a month.
"That's not a bad way to go out."
Sales' Pitch
• Sales played in four different bowl games — the Orange, Outback, Alamo and
Rose — including two BCS bowls.
• He played on Penn State teams that won 26 of 28 games at Beaver Stadium the
past four years.
• He started 25 games in his Penn State career.
• He finished third on the Nittany Lions with 68 tackles this season and second
to Navarro Bowman in solo tackles with 43.
• He had four tackles and forced a fumble in the Rose Bowl loss to USC.
• He was part of a defense that ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense at
12.4 points per game, fifth in total defense at 263.9 yards per game and eighth
in rushing defense at 95.9 yards per game.
• He had 50 tackles his junior season, including 5½ tackles for loss and three
sacks.
• He made six tackles against Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl his junior year,
including a critical sack, in the Nittany Lions' 24-17 win.
• He played in every game his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons.
• He had eight tackles, including five solos, against Cincinnati his sophomore
year.