Penn State will bring another former standout back to Happy Valley on Saturday, with Kim Herring set to serve as the program’s third honorary captain of the season before the Wisconsin game.
Herring, who played safety for Penn State from 1993 through 1996, left a major mark on the program. He was a first-team All-American in 1996 and helped guide the Nittany Lions to an 11-2 record and a No. 7 national ranking after the Fiesta Bowl win over Texas.
That performance pushed him toward the NFL, where the Baltimore Ravens selected him in the second round of the 1997 draft with the No. 58 overall pick. Four years into his pro career, Herring was part of what many still consider one of the greatest defenses in league history and helped Baltimore capture its first Super Bowl title. He also recorded an interception of former Penn State quarterback and teammate Kerry Collins in the Ravens’ 34-7 win over the New York Giants.
After that championship run, Herring moved on in free agency and signed with the St. Louis Rams. His first season there came within a whisker of another title, as the Rams were upset by the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI, when Tom Brady led New England to a 20-17 victory on Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal.
Herring started all 16 regular-season games for St. Louis in 2001 and did it again in 2002. An injury kept him out for the entire 2003 season, and he finished his NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004, appearing in 12 games and starting 10.
He’ll join Robbie Gould, who played from 2001 to 2004, and D.J. Dozier, who played from 1983 to 1986, as Penn State lettermen honored as captains this season. Penn State-Wisconsin is set for 5 p.m. on Peacock.
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