Tag: Abdul Carter

Penn State football 2023 award watch list tracker

Penn State football college football award watch list tracker for 2023

Penn State is gearing up for a potentially exciting college football season. With a roster full of talented individuals across the roster, it is no wonder that so many players have been receiving various degrees of preseason hype leading into the fall.

Before fall camps opened up, the watch lists for a number of college football awards were released to help generate some enthusiasm and excitement about some of college football’s top players at every position. Not surprisingly, a number of Penn State players received some recognition from the watch list announcements. But keeping tabs on every single college football award watch list can be difficult if you don’t know when they are being announced. But we’ll help you out by keeping tabs on every watch list we come across and let you know what players are appearing on which list.

And if you don’t know what an award is specifically for, we’ll keep you informed on that as well.

Here is a look at each Penn State player who has appeared on a watch list for the upcoming season, and which lists they have appeared. This will be updated accordingly as watch list announcements continue to be made.

Penn State defensive trio named to Bronko Nagurski Award watch list

Will any of these three players become Penn State’s first Bronko Nagurski Award winner in school history in 2023?

A trio of Penn State’s top defensive players are now officially in direct competition with each other for one of college football’s top individual honors this season. Linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag], and cornerback [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] were each named to the watch list for this season’s Bronko Nagurski Award from the Football Writers Association of America. The award goes to the nation’s top defensive player as determined by the FWAA.

Penn State was one of six schools to land three players on the initial watch list for the award. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio State were the others. The Big Ten and SEC each had 15 players on the watch list, which was tied for the most by any conference.

The Bronko Nagurski Award has been presented every year since 1993 by the Charlotte Touchdown Club, with Arizona defensive tackle Rob Waldrop receiving the inaugural award. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Penn State has never had a Bronko Nagurski Award winner despite having some top-tier defensive talent over the years.

Last year’s Bronko Nagurski Award winner was Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. It was the second year in a row Anderson claimed the award. He joined Pat Fitzgerald of Northwestern as the only two-time and back-to-back winner of the award. Fitzgerald won the award in 1995 and again in 1996 as a linebacker for the Wildcats.

The last Big Ten player to win the Bronko Nagurski Award was Ohio State defensive end Chase Young in 2019. The only other winners of the award from the Big Ten other than Young and Fitzgerald have been Charles Woodson (Michigan, 1997) and James Laurinaitis (Ohio State, 2006).

Finalists for this year’s award will be announced on November 15 and the winner will be announced on December 4 at a banquet in Charlotte, NC.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=10]

 

PFF’s preseason All-Big Ten team includes three Penn State players

Here is every Penn State player to appear on the PFF preseason All-Big Ten team for 2023

With Big Ten media days quickly approaching, the preseason preview blitz is on everywhere you look. On Tuesday, Pro Football Focus released a handful of preseason all-conference selections for the 2023 college football season. Among the teams shared by PFF was the Big Ten, with three Nittany Lions making the cut.

Just one Penn State player appeared on PFF’s 2023 preseason All-Big Ten first team. It should come as no surprise it was offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu, whom many consider to be a first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Fashanu’s decision to return for another year of college football stunned draft analysts as he could have potentially been a first-round draft pick this year.

Perhaps the biggest offensive player not making the first team cut may be sophomore running back Nick Singleton, but the Big Ten preseason list would have been tough to make with Braelon Allen of Wisconsin and Blake Corum of Michigan in the mix. However, Singleton did make the second-team cut.

Penn State landed two defensive players on the PFF preseason All-Big Ten first team roster. Defensive end Chop Robinson and cornerback Kalen King each made the list. Like Fashanu, Robinson and King could be potential first-round draft picks in 2024, so their inclusions on the preseason All-Big Ten list are not surprising.

The biggest first team snub here may have been for linebacker Abdul Carter, one of the top linebackers in the Big Ten in 2023. Carter did make the second team from PFF, and if a third linebacker spot was included, then maybe he would have been on the first team.

Penn State players on PFF’s preseason all-Big Ten third team included quarterback Drew Allar, wide receiver Dante Cephas, tight end Theo Johnson, offensive tackle Caedan Wallace, linebacker Curtis Jacobs, and cornerback Johnny Dixon. Singleton was also included on the third team as a return specialist for good measure.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=10]

Top three outside linebackers in the Big Ten in 2023

Steele Chamber makes our list of top outside linebackers #GoBucks #B1G

We recently discussed that the Big Ten was full of elite inside linebackers, but the outside linebacker position was a bit more scarce for talent. Ohio State has another stud that should continue to ride the momentum of their impressive 2022 season into 2023 and the Penn State Nittany Lions have another dynamic linebacker and another young back waiting to explode this season as well.

It is comforting that we have dove into defensive end, defensive tackle, inside linebacker and now outside linebacker and a Buckeye has made every single list, but it is also interesting that there have been so many Penn State representatives as well. Let’s dive into the top three outside linebackers in the Big Ten.

Phil Steele’s preseason All-Americans and All-Big Ten rosters feature multiple Nittany Lions

Phil Steele includes a number of Penn State players on his preseason All-America and All-Big Ten rosters for 2023.

You know the dogs days of summer are essentially upon us not because schools are letting out for the summer and grills are firing up for some evening cookouts and pools are being splashed in, but because the college football preview content is beginning to overflow with information for the upcoming 2023 college football season. Among the highlights of the summer preview season is when the iconic Phil Steele begins sharing his preseason All-America and all-conference teams, and this week saw the unveiling of his All-Big Ten roster. Needless to say, it includes a good number of Penn State players for the 2023 season.

Offensive lineman [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] and defensive back Kalen King headline the preseason accolades by appearing on the preseason All-America roster from Steele. The two standouts are projected to be potential first-round draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft, with Fashanu surprising many with his decision to return to Penn State for one more season after being projected as a possible first-round pick in the 2023 draft.

Linebacker Abdul Carter, entering his sophomore season in Happy Valley after a brilliant freshman debut, appeared on Phil Steele’s third-team preseason All-America list. Sophomore running back Nick Singleton also makes the preseason-All-America cut for Steele, although he does so on the fourth team. Not bad for two of Penn State’s top freshmen from a season ago.

All four of the players mentioned are locked in to Steele’s preseason All-Big Ten team, as you would expect. Fashanu, King, and Carter all appear on the first-team preseason All-Big Ten roster from Steele, and Singleton makes the second-team All-Big Ten cut.

Joining Singleton on the preseason All-Big Ten second team are linebacker Curtis Jacobs and defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag]. Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, center [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag], defensive end Adisa Isaac, and long snapper [autotag]Tyler Duzansky[/autotag] all received third-team All-Big Ten honors from Steele. Cornerback Johnny Dixon, who is expected to be a leading candidate to lock down a starting job this fall, was included on Steele’s fourth-team preseason All-Big Ten roster.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=10]

Athlon Sports: Penn State football has 13 on preseason All-Big Ten for 2023

Penn State had the third-most players appearing on the preseason All-Big Ten list from Athlon Sports.

It’s that time of the year again when the preseason college football previews start making the rounds. Athlon Sports has not sent its annual preseason publication to the magazine racks just yet, but it has shared its preseason all-conference teams for the upcoming 2023 college football season.

The preseason All-Big Ten list from Athlon Sports was published earlier this week, and it included 13 players from Penn State’s roster scattered throughout its four-deep all-conference team. Yes, four-deep, because it is likely the best way to spread the word with school press releases and social media impressions. Only Michigan and Ohio State had more players listed than the Nittany Lions among Big Ten teams, which may be something that has come to be expected.

Here are all of the Penn State football players to make the Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten team.

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 11 Abdul Carter

Penn State’s Linebacker-U tradition will remain strong with Abdul Carter in 2023.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

We turn next to arguably Penn State’s top defensive player on the roster in 2023, sophomore linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]. The All-Big Ten second-team linebacker was named to numerous freshman All-America teams last fall after a stellar debut season on the field. For as much attention as is served to Penn State freshman running back Nick Singleton, and deservingly so, Carter’s freshman season was every bit as spectacular on the defensive side of the football. This could be another big season for the top linebacker in the program.

Two Penn State players on the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list

Penn State’s top defensive players make an appearance on the first watch list of the 2023 college football season.

Two of the most prominent players on Penn State’s defense have been added to the watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy. [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] and [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] are among 42 defensive players across the country that will have the spotlight on them for this prestigious award.

The award is named after legendary player and NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. It’s handed out to the defensive player who had the biggest impact on their team on and off the field. Their website states that it’s the only major award in college football that considers character as one of its criteria.

IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity, which are characteristics that Lott exhibited while at USC.

The winner is announced on December 10th after votes are tallied from a panel of former winners of the award, members of the media, coaches and Board of Directors for The IMPACT Foundation.

This is a huge spotlight for Carter who is going into his sophomore season. He had a massive first season of college football, tallying 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, earning freshman All-American honors. Carter is one of 16 linebackers who is on the watch list.

King is coming off a huge season as well. Despite the media coverage that [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] got last year, it was actually King who quietly put together a better statistical season. He was PFF’s highest rated defensive back in 2022 with a 93.3 rating. He also had 18 pass breakups which was third nationally and first in the Big Ten, helping him earn second team All-American honors. King is now thrust into the number one cornerback role this season with a lot of expectations on his shoulders.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy has been given out every year since 2004. David Pollock from Georgia was the first winner of the award. Last year’s winner was Will Anderson Jr. from Alabama. Winners of the trophy have a history of being impact players in the NFL after they leave college.

The only Penn State player to win the Lott IMPACT Trophy was [autotag]Carl Nassib[/autotag] in 2015.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=10]

[mm-video type=video id=01h068g6q8z7aq66stxs playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h068g6q8z7aq66stxs/01h068g6q8z7aq66stxs-c1ccfba7b4a184f24d3dd4397c6935b4.jpg]

Which Penn State players can be future NFL draft picks?

What current Penn State football players will be future NFL draft picks?

Ever since [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] took over as the head coach at Penn State in 2014 they have seen their players become NFL players more often. We have seen players such as [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag], [autotag]Jahan Dotson[/autotag], and this year [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] all go in the first round or be projected to be drafted that high.

Becoming a first-round player in the NFL is not something that happens very often for players even if they are highly-ranked recruits. Coaching staffs and competition play a major part but also it comes down to the physical development of the player.

Looking ahead as we enter the week of the 2023 NFL draft, Penn State has just one player who is being projected in the first round but what about in the years to come? Some of those players can already be identified or projected to be drafted highly by the NFL.

Penn State player may have leaked kickoff time for season opener vs. West Virginia

No official announcements yet, but the start time for Penn State’s first game of the 2023 season vs. West Virginia may be known.

Fans preparing to attend Penn State’s 2023 season opener may want to start thinking about a long day, and a late night. While nothing has been officially announced just yet, we may have been given an idea that Penn State’s season opener against West Virginia will be played under the lights in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, September 2.

An image shared by Penn State linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] on his Instagram account showed a TV screen with a live countdown to the first game of the season, against the Mountaineers. In addition to the scheduled date, it also included a kickoff time of 7:30 p.m. ET.

Penn State has not faced West Virginia since joining the Big Ten. The 2023 meeting, the first in a home-and-home deal that continues in Morgantown, WV to open the 2024 season, is the first between the two old regional rivals since the 1992 season. The excitement for a fun regional rivalry’s revival is certainly worth getting pumped for, especially when it is the first game of the season. Throw in a primetime atmosphere, and we are now already entering legitimate whiteout conditions in Happy Valley.

This could also be a game primed for the first Saturday of Big Ten football coverage on NBC, one of the new broadcast partners for the Big Ten beginning this season. After years of partnering with ESPN, the Big Ten opens a new media rights deal with FOX, CBS, and NBC (and Big Ten Network) that kicks off this year. FOX will continue to use the Big Ten to highlight its Big Noon Kickoff programming and CBS will remain in its signature 3:30 p.,m. timeslot with the Big Ten after years of success with the SEC in that programming window.

NBC will showcase a Big Ten primetime game as part of the deal, With Notre Dame hosting Tennessee State in what will surely be an afternoon contest, which leaves the door wide open for this matchup to be the first primetime showcase for the Big Ten’s NBC lineup.

We’ll wait for an official update from Penn State, the Big Ten, and media partners, but it does look like we know when Penn State’s first game of the 2023 season will be played. Begin planning accordingly.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Follow Kevin McGuire on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.