Letterman Adam Taliaferro hosting fan trip for Penn State-USC football game

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Alumni Association and Sports and Entertainment Travel will host a fan tour for this season's football game at USC from Oct. 11-13. Registration is now open for the fan trip, which will be hosted by football letterman Adam Taliaferro.

The USC tour package includes a two-night stay in downtown Los Angeles, at JW Marriott LA Live; a Friday night mixer, co-hosted by the Alumni Association and a local alumni chapter; and the Roar Tour Pep Rally. Also included will be a tour souvenir, event lanyard and credential, and more. The Roar Tour Pep Rally and Friday night mixer will feature performances from the Pep Band, Penn State cheerleaders and the Nittany Lion. The USC Roar Tour Pep Rally will be open to all Penn Staters.

Trip host Adam Taliaferro, a letterman cornerback for the football team, is one of the most inspiring student-athletes in Penn State history, defying the odds after suffering a paralyzing spinal cord injury as a freshman in 2000. Told he wouldn’t walk again, Taliaferro led Penn State football onto the field for the 2001 season opener at Beaver Stadium. Taliaferro walked that night, and even jogged, in front of a sold-out crowd. Alumni and fans can meet Taliaferro and speak with the letterman, who will attend the tour events during the weekend. Taliaferro, who graduated from Penn State in 2005, currently serves as the director of state and community engagement for Johnson & Johnson.

For the first time in the regular season, Penn State will visit USC, with the Big Ten Conference expanding to 18 teams and the Trojans joining the conference for its inaugural season in the Big Ten. The two squads last met in the 2017 Rose Bowl, widely regarded as one of the best contests in the bowl's 100-year-plus history.