Following the unveiling of the AP preseason All-American team, Sporting News released its preseason All-Americans for the upcoming 2023 college football season. And once again, a couple of Penn State players received first-team accolades. Offensive tackle [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] were named first-team preseason All-Americans by Sporting News, one of the five recognized outlets that ultimately is used to determine the consensus All-Americans.
Running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] were included on the Sporting News preseason second-team roster, giving Penn State a total of four players on the preseason All-American roster.
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.
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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.
Singleton was the Big Ten freshman of the year in 2022. He set a new Penn State freshman record with 12 rushing touchdowns and is the fourth Penn State player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards or more as a freshman. Singleton received third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022 following his brilliant freshman season for the Nittany Lions.
Singleton is also making appearances on the watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year, Doak Walker Award, and the Paul Hornung Award.
Penn State was one of just two schools to have four players named on the preseason All-American list from Sporting News. Two-time defending national champion Georgia was the other team with four players on the list (Ohio State led all schools with five players). The Big Ten had the most total players on the list with 15 in all, 12 of which come from Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan.
You can see the full Sporting News preseason All-American list to see who else made the team this season.
Penn State begins its 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 with a primetime matchup on NBC against West Virginia of the Big 12.
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