This is how good Ron Etter was in his senior football season at Chambersburg: He was recruited by some 60 colleges to play football for them and the final five schools he chose from were Alabama, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State.
Etter was a terror on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Trojans during his career, which was 1968-70.
Here is a list of some honors Etter collected following his senior football season in 1970, under coach Tom Carroll:
- Sunkist Prep All-American
- Scholastic Coach & Athlete All-American, and listed in top 100 players in the U.S.
- Pennsylvania All-State, on offense and defense
- Chambersburg Touchdown Club’s Outstanding Football Player of Franklin County
- Chosen for the Pennsylvania Big 33 team
While at CASHS, Etter also lettered two years in track & field and one year in basketball.
At Penn State, Etter played guard on the offensive line, and was undersized – 6-3 ½, 242 pounds – especially compared to today’s standards. In his last three years for the Nittany Lions, he was on the second line of the depth chart.
During his time there, PSU played in 2 Cotton Bowls (1971, 1975), the 1972 Sugar Bowl and the 1974 Orange Bowl. The 1973 team was 12-0-0 and produced Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti.
After college Etter and his wife, Cathie Wood, moved to Perry County and Etter served for 30 years in the West Perry school district as a health & physical education teacher. He helped coach the high school and middle school football teams.
Etter said the highlights of his high school career were Coach Carroll announcing him as an All-American to the rest of the team, and receiving a Western Union telegram from coach Bob Devaney of Nebraska, asking him to come visit the Cornhuskers.
By Ed Gotwals
