All 105 is a Nittany Sorts Now Series profiling each Penn State football player. In this edition, we will be profiling freshman defensive back, Cristian Driver.
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 191-pounds
Hometown: Flower Mound, Texas
Before Penn State: The son of a former NFL player, Donald Driver, played high school football under another former NFL player, Jason Witten.
Driver— who also ran track— was a four-year letter winner at Liberty Christian High School and twice won team MVP, playing at both defensive back and wide receiver. He made the All-State team all four years and, after his senior season, was invited to play in both the Navy and Grey and Under Armour All-American games.
247Sports, ESPN, On3 and Rivals all listed Driver as a four-star recruit and Rivals had him as the No. 10 athlete nationally in the 2022 recruiting class.
He committed to Penn State in late July of last year, picking coach James Franklin’s program over Alabama, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M and Wisconsin, among others.
Where he stands: Like with any true freshman, it’s hard to say what Driver’s role will be in Year 1.
Penn State has a lot of talent coming back in the secondary, led by defending interceptions leader Ji’Ayir Brown and projected first-round draft pick Joey Porter Jr., so it’s not likely that first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will need to throw Driver into the fire right away.
Like fellow freshman defensive back Mekhi Flowers, Driver played well at both receiver and defensive back in high school, and that versatility could help both at least get their feet wet as true freshmen.
A quote about Driver:
“Obviously, you football ability jumped off the film right away when we watched it,” coach James Franklin told Driver via satellite on early signing day. “But your mom and dad are two of the best, most impressive people I’ve ever been around. But to think that you have turned out as well as you have is no surprise.
