University Park, Pa. — Former Penn State guard Tyler Lenda has been selected for induction into the West Shore Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, May 13. The ceremony will take place at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill.
Lenda played on Penn State’s offensive line from 1999-2002, lettering all four years. During his junior and senior seasons, Lenda started 23 of 24 games, helping the Nittany Lions to a berth in the 2003 Capital One Bowl. Lenda was a 2002 honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection and was chosen as a co-winner of the Richard Maginnis Memorial Award, presented to the team’s top offensive lineman.
A native of Camp Hill, Lenda helped pave the way for All-America tailback Larry Johnson, who became just the ninth player in NCAA Division I-A history to gain 2,000 yards in a season, rushing for 2,087 yards in 2002.
Lenda also played football professionally. He signed with the Denver Broncos in 2003 and also signed with the Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs. Lenda played in NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals from 2004-06. He was captain for the Admirals in 2005 and ’06, helping the team win the World Bowl in 2005 and reach the title game in ’06. He was selected the center on the 2006 All-NFL Europe team.
Lenda was a standout at Cedar Cliff High School, where he was a four-sport star earning 13 letters. He started three years for the football team, earning SuperPrep and Prep Star All-America honors. He participated in the Big 33 Classic and the Pennsylvania East-West all-star game. He was a 1998 state champion in the discus, an all-conference swimmer and a district medalist in wrestling and the Carlisle Sentinel 1997-98 Athlete-of-the-Year.
Lenda earned his degree in history prior to the 2002 season. He is a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Harrisburg, Pa. He is a business partner with his father, Ed, who played football for the Nittany Lions from 1963-66.
The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame was chartered in 1962. It is the only community based Hall of Fame in the nation and its 29 chartered chapters serve more than 300 communities throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
Each year the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame inducts area greats of yesteryear and endeavors to include athletes, administrators, coaches, and those involved in sports medicine and the sports media. The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame also honors the scholastic, collegiate, community service and courageous athlete awards within those communities.