A veteran defensive lineman is no longer on Penn State football’s roster.
Jordan van den Berg, who had been with PSU since the 2021 season, no longer has a roster page, and multiple outlets have confirmed that he’s no longer with the program.
Penn State beat reporters might have known something was amiss when van den Berg wasn’t present for the team’s annual max out session, which was open to media. Considering van den Berg will be probably be best remembered by Penn State fans for what he could do in the weight room, this was no small absence.
Van den Berg is strong. Like, really really strong. Strong enough to where the Athletic’s Bruce Feldman feels there are only 14 players in college football that fit the “freak” definition more than he does.
For an athlete, to be called a “freak” is a compliment, just so we’re clear.
This offseason, he benched 455, cleaned 380 and back-squatted 690,” Feldman wrote, “but it’s the combination of the strength with his agility numbers that forced his way onto the list.”
Feldman noted than Van Den Berg ran a 4.74 40-yard dash and “his shuttle time of 4.20, might be even more impressive.”
A little more than a week after Feldman released this year’s freak’s list, I asked van den Berg about being named to it at a post-practice media session.
This gave van den Berg a chance to dive into his family history.
“My grandmother, she swam in the Olympics,” he said. “My grandfather, he was a bodybuilder. He competed against Arnold. So it’s definitely an honor to be doing something that I can one day tell my kids about. It means a lot to me.”
Unfortunately for van den Berg, he was part of a deep defensive line group that included Hakeem Beamon, Zane Durant and Dvon Ellies.
His Penn State career totaled 28 games and he picked up 25 tackles.
Van den berg has one year of eligibility left, and Penn State now has 98 scholarship players, with 85 being the limit.
