STATE COLLEGE − It was one of the most perplexing questions in a yearly NFL Draft routine full of unexpected evaluations:
How many basketballs does it take to fill a school bus?
The dozen or so Penn State football players working out during Friday’s Pro Day in Holuba Hall shared stories from their ongoing gauntlet of NFL meet-and-greet interviews.
It’s all leading up to the draft and free agency frenzy at the end of next month. NFL personnel prodding and quizzing and questioning players about animals and fruit and the alphabet.
And dishing out brainteasers to assess critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Like how Penn State’s NFL-bound tight end Theo Johnson and linebacker Curtis Jacobs said a coach from an unnamed NFL team asked them, in separate interviews, to figure out how many basketballs would fit on a bus.
“I had a lot of questions myself. Are the basketballs flat, are there seats (on the bus)?” Jacobs told reporters with a smile. “There’s a lot of things you need to know.
“They want to see how you analyze it. I was really thinking it through, though. I wanted to know …”
When pressed on Friday, Johnson laughed and declined to provide how he answered. “It was a long calculation thing about how wide a basketball is, how wide a seat is, how high it is. I’m not going to try and figure that out in front of all you guys here.”
Jacobs said he estimated that it would take between 1,000 and 3,000 basketballs to do the job. He’d triple the number if the balls were deflated.
“I feel you have to analyze it, ask questions, because you’re going to have to problem-solve solve in the league with stuff you don’t necessarily really know. It’s just about analyzing the situation, seeing what you can do and asking for help if you need it.”
His NFL story: Penn State football star rising again? How Kalen King views his NFL future …
His NCAA mission: Carter Starocci stoked for Penn State wrestling, NCAA’s: ‘I’ll take them all on in 3 days’
The NFL types reportedly asked players if they more cat or dog … a banana or an apple.
Asked them if they could recite each letter of the alphabet with a corresponding number, going from A1 to B2 to C3 and so on …
Offensive lineman Hunter Nourzad, he of the Ivy League engineering degree, laughed about that particular test.
“It sounds easy. When (the NFL coach) said that I was like, ‘Oh, this will be a piece of cake,’ and it’s not. Especially when you have people staring at you trying to do it.”
Penn State football: Saquon Barkley reps Cher
Saquon Barkley, the former Penn State star and newly-minted Philadelphia Eagle, turned up for Pro Day with an intriguing T-shirt choice.
His white shirt featured ageless entertainer, actress and pop singer, Cher.
Barkley spent his sideline time Friday morning playing with his young son and talking with friends, former teammates and current players.
He did not speak to the media to explain his wardrobe choice.
Penn State football: Alex Felkins kicks to the moon
One of the unexpected treats of Pro Day workouts in Holuba Hall: watching former Penn State transfer kicker Alex Felkins bomb field goal attempts from increasing distances.
He was perfect from inside of 45 yards. Despite some ensuing hiccups, he did connect from distances beyond regular means, including from 60 and 61 yards.
Of course, that was without an onlooking crowd, defenders or weatherly distractions − the beauty of Pro Day.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State football players were asked these NFL Draft questions
