Talking Penn State Football History: Tom Donchez
Talking Penn State Football History
Release Date: 01/27/2026
Talking Penn State Football History: Tom Donchez
Talking Penn State Football History
Tom Donchez unfortunately passed away on August 28, 2024. He not only was one of Penn State’s best fullbacks in their storied history but was also an ambassador for Penn State University. We are re-airing this episode in honor of him: We are privileged this week to interview Tom Donchez, who was one of Penn State's best fullbacks in their history. He also was PSU's leading rusher in 1974 and starred in the 1975 Cotton Bowl against Baylor. Tom sheds insight into that great 1973 undefeated Penn State team where he shared time with Bob Nagle at fullback blocking for John...
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Talking Penn State Football History: Tom Rafferty Tribute
Talking Penn State Football History
Tom Rafferty, better known as "Raff" by his teammates, passed away on June 5, 2025, at the age of 70. Tom was an offensive lineman for Penn State from 1972-1975. However, he is best known for his NFL career as the center for the Dallas Cowboys. Tom played at Penn State during a time when it was "Offensive Linemen U". There were a tremendous number of offensive linemen during the early to mid-1970s that went on to play NFL football. Tom was a 4th round pick in the 1976 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He played his entire NFL career with Dallas, first as an offensive guard, then the center...
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Talking Penn State Football History: Lou Benfatti
Talking Penn State Football History
This week we look back at the time between the 1986 PSU national championship and the 1994 undefeated season. Penn State defensive lineman Lou Benfatti is our guest this week. Lou played at Penn State from 1990-1993 and was a dominating force on the defensive line. He played on some very good Penn State teams that are lost in the shuffle. Lou had an impact on the PSU defensive line starting in his redshirt freshman year in 1990. These teams are overlooked, and Lou was an outstanding defensive lineman that could have played in any era of Penn State football. Enjoy our look at Lou's career...
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Talking Penn State Football History: Randy Crowder
Talking Penn State Football History
Randy Crowder passed away on May 21, 2025. We re-air this podcast in honor of him. We revisit the outstanding defense of that great 1973 Penn State team this week and are fortunate to interview Randy Crowder, defensive lineman and 1973 All-American. Randy was an outstanding defensive lineman who played alongside the likes of Mike Hartenstine, Greg Murphy and Dave Graf. He played under three of the greatest coaches the game of football has ever known: Joe Paterno, Don Shula and John McKay. Enjoy Randy share his experiences during his career, both in college and the NFL.
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Talking Penn State Football History: Terry Rakowsky
Talking Penn State Football History
Terry Rakowsky joins us this week. Terry played at Penn State from 1978-1981. He was recruited as a quarterback out of North Schuykill High School and was highly touted. He backed up Chuck Fusina in 1978 as a freshman when Penn State went 11-0 in the regular season and reached the #1 ranking for the first time in school history. Terry was moved to wide receiver in 1979 and made a great catch in the N.C. State game which led to a 54-yard game winning field goal by Herb Menhardt. He was unfortunately a product of bad luck within the Penn State program. Terry also played and lettered in baseball...
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Talking Penn State Football History: Scott Fitzkee
Talking Penn State Football History
We relive those great Penn State teams of 1977-1978 this week with our guest, wide receiver Scott Fitzkee. Scott was voted the best athlete to come out of York County, PA. He was a star at Red Lion High School before taking his talents to Penn State. Scott played at Penn State from 1975-1978, then played with the Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers and the Philadelphia Stars. He helped lead Penn State to two successive 11-1 seasons in 1977-1978 and was a member of the Eagles squad which appeared in Super Bowl XV. Enjoy this trip down memory lane in looking back at the "Heyday" of Penn...
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Talking Penn State Football History: Tony Pittman
Talking Penn State Football History
Today's guest is Tony Pittman. He played on the undefeated 1994 team that won the Rose Bowl over Oregon. Tony followed his father, Charlie, to Penn State and he and his father were 45-0-1 as starters on their respective Penn State football squads. He had a lot of academic honors coming to Penn State and chose PSU over the Ivy League schools. Tony redshirted with Kerry Collins and Kyle Brady in 1990 and then led the team in interceptions in 1993. Sit back and listen to one of the members of that great PSU team in 1994 and a great representative of Penn State and college football.
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Talking Penn State Football History: Tom Donchez Tribute
Talking Penn State Football History
Tom Donchez passed away on August 28, 2024, at the age of 72. Tom was one of Penn State's best fullbacks in school history. He was also a special human being. He played a short time in the NFL and blocked for both O.J. Simpson and Walter Payton. Tom was successful in business with Air Products where he was employed for 35 years. He also was one of the founding members of the PSU Letterman's Club. Joining me to talk about Tom as a football player and human being are teammates Buddy Tesner, Tommy O'Dell, Greg Murphy, Greg Buttle, Tom Shuman and Tom's three sons Andy, Pete and Mike. We hail Tom...
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Talking Penn State Football History: Greg Murphy
Talking Penn State Football History
We continue to celebrate those great teams in the early 1970s with our guest this week. Greg Murphy joins us to talk about his Penn State career and share some great stories. Greg was born in New Bern, NC, but played his high school football in Brooklyn, NY at Samuel J. Tilden High School. After coming to Happy Valley, he became an outstanding player on the defensive line for the 1973 and 1974 seasons. Greg was not eligible to play in 1971 (last year of Freshman ineligibility), but participated in 3 major bowl games (Sugar, Orange and Cotton), winning the 1973 Orange and 1974 Cotton...
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Talking Penn State Football History: Randy Crowder Tribute
Talking Penn State Football History
Randy Crowder passed away on May 21, 2025, at the age of 72. We air this tribute to Randy and share thoughts of him from several of his teammates. Steve Davis, Dave Graf, Bruce Bannon and Greg Murphy join me to talk about Randy as a teammate and friend. Randy was a first team All-American in 1973 and first team All-East in 1973. He was drafted in the 1974 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins and had a nice NFL career. Randy played in the heyday of Penn State football: 1968-1975 PSU played in 7 major bowl games in 8 years. We hail Randy Crowder with his teammates in honor of a great Penn State...
info_outlineTom Donchez unfortunately passed away on August 28, 2024. He not only was one of Penn State’s best fullbacks in their storied history but was also an ambassador for Penn State University. We are re-airing this episode in honor of him:
We are privileged this week to interview Tom Donchez, who was one of Penn State's best fullbacks in their history. He also was PSU's leading rusher in 1974 and starred in the 1975 Cotton Bowl against Baylor. Tom sheds insight into that great 1973 undefeated Penn State team where he shared time with Bob Nagle at fullback blocking for John Cappelletti. Sit back and enjoy this look back to Tom Donchez's career and the 1975 Cotton Bowl.