Remember the thinking across the commonwealth that the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal would mark the end of Penn State as an elite college football program?

Think again.

Penn State football is climbing the charts — again.

Getting five players selected by NFL teams in last weekend’s draft has pulled Penn State into a seventh-place tie with Nebraska for most players drafed by NFL teams in pro football history. Both have 361.

Penn State’s five drafted players this year are defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos by Carolina, receiver KJ Hamler by Denver (both second round), cornerback John Reid by Houston in the fourth round, linebacker Cam Brown by the New York Giants and defensive lineman Robert Windsor by Indianapolis in the sixth round.

Under coach James Franklin’s tutelage, the Nittany Lions have had 26 players drafted, including 17 over the past three years.

Few schools have had the consistent production in the NFL draft that Penn State’s had for decades now.

The Nittany Lions slipped for a while due to the fallout and penalties resulting from the Sandusky scandal.

That skid didn’t last very long. Thankfully, tradition won out.

The six colleges to have more players drafted than Penn State? Notre Dame and USC have had 511 each, Ohio State 463, Oklahoma 397, Michigan 379 and Alabama 374.

Pitt stands 21st on the all-time list with 283, including cornerback Dane Jackson, selected in the seventh round by Buffalo. West Virginia has had 196 players chosen.

Since 2000, Ohio State leads all of college football with 141 players drafted. Alabama is second with 127, LSU third with 126. Both of those schools hiked their totals by multiple selections last weekend.

Slippery Rock University has had five players drafted in its football history. The highest pick was Seneca Valley graduate and Rock center Brandon Fusco, chosen in the sixth round by Minnesota in 2011.

Running back Greg Paterra went to Atlanta in the seventh round in 1989, running back Chuck Sanders in the 11th round to San Diego in 1986. Running back Ricky Porter went to Detroit in the 12th round in 1982.

The first Rock football player ever drafted was defensive end Mike Cullin, who went to Oakland in the seventh round of 1967.

Indiana (Pa.) has had seven players drafted, the last five all going within the first five rounds. The most recent was defensive back Akwasi Owusu-Ansah by Dallas in the fourth round in 2010.

The Crimson Hawks’ highest draft pick was linebacker Jim Haslet — eventual head coach of the New Orleans Saints — by Buffalo in the second round in 1979.

For college gridders, it’s always good to get caught in the draft.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle