The start of a new college football season kicks off this weekend with the start of the Week 0 schedule. Penn State will get their season started in Week 1 and will do so with two players having been named AP preseason All-American players.
Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu and cornerback Kalen King were each named first-team preseason All-Americans by the AP on Monday. Penn State is one of four schools to have two first-team players on the AP preseason All-American roster; Michigan, Iowa, LSU, and Washington are the others.
Fashanu made a somewhat surprising decision to return to Penn State for one more year of college football. Projected by many to be a likely first-round draft pick in the 2023 NFL draft, Fashanu’s decision to return was a huge boost for the Penn State offensive line in 2023. Fashanu still projects to be a first-round draft pick in 2024, and some draft analysts believe he could be a high first-round pick.
Fashanu also appears on the watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Lombardi Award, and the Outland Trophy.
King is coming off a stellar season in the Penn State defense in 2022. He was named a third-team All-Big Ten player by the Big Ten coaches and media and received third-team All-America from Pro Football Focus and an honorable mention for All-American by Phil Steele. The Walter Camp Football Foundation named King a second-team All-American.
King has also been named to the watch lists for the Bednarik Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Award, and the Jim Thorpe Award.
Fashanu, King, and the rest of the Nittany Lions kick off the 2023 season with a home game against West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 2 against West Virginia in primetime.
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