ESPN announces LaVar Arrington as Week 5 College GameDay guest picker for Penn State vs. Oregon

When College GameDay heads to Happy Valley this week, a Penn State legend will be on the desk. College Football Hall of Famer LaVar Arrington will serve as the guest picker, ESPN announced.

Arrington put together a decorated career at Penn State from 1997-99. He was a first team All-American in 1998 and a unanimous All-American in 1999 before becoming the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He also won the Chuck Bednarik, Butkus and Jack Lambert awards that year.

Washington selected Arrington with the No. 2 pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, and he played for the franchise until 2005. He was a two-time Second Team All-Pro selection and made three Pro Bowls while becoming one of the Commanders’ 90 greatest players.

In 2006, Arrington signed a seven-year deal with the New York Giants, but suffered an Achilles injury that ended his season. He was then involved in a motorcycle accident in June 2007 and suffered serious injuries, and he announced his retirement in September 2007.

Following his playing career, Arrington went into media. He started out as Washington’s pregame and postgame team and became a permanent remember later in the 2007 season. He then contributed to Washington Post Live’s pre- and post-game content and broke into talk radio in 2009 on 106.7 The Fan.

LaVar Arrington then joined NFL network in 2014 and currently works as a contributor for FS1. He currently co-hosts 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe on FOX Sports Radio alongside Jonas Knox and former Notre Dame star Brady Quinn.

Oregon at Penn State is shaping up to be one of the top games in a jam-packed Week 5 slate of games. It will be the Nittany Lions’ annual White Out game at Beaver Stadium, providing one of the best environments in the sport. The game will get the primetime treatment on NBC with the lead broadcast team of Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge on the call for the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, and James Franklin sounded more than happy it’s a night game despite FOX’s apparent efforts.

“I know FOX tried to argue that a 12:00 ‘White Out’ was the same as a 7:00 ‘White Out,’ and people would disagree with that,” Franklin said. “There’s been factors that have impacted it a bit, but when you’re able to get a night game against an opponent like we have … with the sky, the black sky. The white uniforms. The white crowd and the contrast of the black uniforms. Just the anticipation and the buildup with even students sleeping outside the stadium for the entire week … it’s just turned into a special event.”