A few jet-setting Niners returned to their roots over the weekend to once again be the big men on campus.
NaVorro Bowman, Gerald Hodges, Pierre Garçon and Bruce Miller all used the short break between phase 1 and phase 2 of the offseason program to attend their college programs' spring games.
Bowman and Hodges, whose careers at Penn State overlapped one season, visited Happy Valley together and were on the sideline for the "Blue-White Game."
For Bowman, the trip marked his first trek back to State College in seven years. The program's hire of James Franklin last season prompted the reunion.
"I actually visited Maryland in 11th grade and coach Franklin was the person to give me my first scholarship (offer)," Bowman told the Big Ten Network. "So for him to take over at Penn State, I had to come back and support him and let him know that Penn State is family – we stick together."
Meanwhile, Hyde flew back to Columbus to watch his Ohio State Buckeyes play in front of a spring-game record crowd of 100,189 fans. Miller returned to Central Florida, where he met up with a couple other Knights-turned-NFL standouts – New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall and Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray.
