Penn State’s football program is adding a familiar name to its 2021 team. Former Nittany Lions star Alan Zemaitis is joining this group as an assistant recruiting coordinator, according to a tweet from Wednesday night of the PSU national recruitment coordinator, Kenny Sanders.
Zemaitis responded quickly, stating “I’m coming home to finish what I started “. He was three times in the All-Big selection while playing cornerback at Penn State, won the All-American award as a senior in 2005 and was twice named a semi-finalist by the Jim Thorpe Award, awarded annually to the best defensive coasts of college football.
A captain of the 2005 Orange Bowl champions, he ended his career in fourth place in team record books, with 12 career interceptions. Zemaitis broke through as a sophomore redshirt, securing four interceptions and leading the conference with 18 past separations.
He went on to become a selection for the fourth round of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2006. Zemaitis later, he spent time with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League competition.
During his days as Leão Nittany, Zemaitis faced great adversity in the form of a serious car accident, as documented in a 2005 article written by our own Mark Brennan:
Zemaitis was returning to University Park from his home in Rochester, NY, at the time of the accident, which occurred on State Route 15 in a remote area of northern central Pennsylvania. He was taken by helicopter to a hospital, [his scalp] sewed again and – surprisingly – returned home to his family in Rochester within three days. Even more surprising: he recovered quickly enough to participate in the Nittany Lions spring training two months later.
But the effects of the fall persisted. They still do that, even with Zemaitis, now a fifth-year senior captain, with the goal of becoming the first PSU cornerback to earn honors from the All-America senior team. So many nerves have been cut on the upper right side of his face and scalp that much of the area remains numb. … There is no need to ask him about the car accident, because a new tattoo on his left arm tells the whole story. The focal point is a sign for Route 15, with the word “Tragedy” above and “Triumph” below. Not only is he not running away from the accident, but he is also embracing him as a fundamental part of his life.
Zemaitis, 38 years served on the Division III technical team Susquehanna University for several seasons, since 2012, most recently acting as coordinator of special teams and security trainer. According to the program’s website, its main recruiting regions were Pennsylvania (Cumberland and Dauphin counties), New Jersey (Essex, Union, Bergen and Hudson counties) and Maryland (Prince George and Anne Arundel counties and the city of Baltimore ).
His return to Happy Valley comes two weeks after Penn State brought back Sanders, who previously held the title of Assistant Personnel Director for Nittany Lions players for five seasons before taking over as Oregon’s recruiting director in 2019.
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