Hall of Fame
DONALD PENN
Hometown: Inglewood, Calif.
Sport: Football
Years: 2002-05
A four-year anchor on the Utah State offensive line, Donald Penn is one of the most accomplished football players to ever put on the Aggie uniform. After taking over the reins as the starting right tackle in the third game of his freshman season, Penn went on to start 44 consecutive games for USU. Following his freshman season, he made the switch to left tackle, where he started every game of his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. During his senior year in 2005, Penn was selected by his teammates as a team captain. He earned second-team all-Western Athletic Conference honors following the season, and was selected to play in the Hula Bowl, an annual all-star game consisting of many of the nation's top football players. As a senior, Penn helped pave the way for an Aggie offense that averaged 405.6 yards of total offense per game – 144.1 on the ground and 261.5 through the air – and 32.7 points per game. Following his collegiate career, Penn entered the NFL and was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. Following a brief stint in Minnesota, Penn was picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where just four games into his professional career he became a starter. He spent seven years in Tampa Bay before a six-year stint with the Oakland Raiders. During the summer of 2019, Penn signed a deal to continue his career with the Washington Redskins, making him one of the longest-tenured offensive linemen in the NFL. Penn's record of consistency and durability continued into his NFL career, as he played in a streak of 170 consecutive starts, which ran for over a decade between 2006-17. At the time, that was the longest-running streak of consecutive starts for a lineman in the NFL. During his 14-year NFL career, Penn has been selected to the Pro Bowl three times (2010, 2016, 2017), has started 184 career games ,and has caught six passes for 26 yards and four touchdowns, which is tied for the most touchdowns in NFL history by an offensive lineman.
