Tag: Olumuyiwa Fashanu

6 Penn State players make Bruce Feldman’s “Freak List”

Bruce Feldman included a number of Penn State players on his annual college football freaks list

The athl;eticism on the Penn State roster is well recognized by those who pay close attention. And few pay closer attention to the freakish athletic nature of college football’s finest like Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. Feldman’s “Freak List” has developed a cult following of those who are big college football fans. For those unaware, Feldman has been creating this list for around 20 years that highlights the best athletes around college football.

Hence, the term “freak.”

Feldman started with 10 players he talked about every year, but the popularity has driven him to cover more players. Coaches, teammates, parents, scouts and agents will contact him to let him know about someone who he should look at for the list.

This year, Feldman’s “Freak List” has 101 names on it with six players from Penn State getting highlighted for their athleticism. Here is where they are ranked on his list. You can view the full list of Feldman’s college football freaks for 2023 via The Athletic.

Lombardi Award watch list includes trio of Nittany Lions

Will one of these three players become Penn State’s third all-time Lombardi Award winner?

Just when you thought we were done looking over college football award watch lists, the Rotary Club of Houston released this year’s watch list for the Lombardi Award. And on it were the names of three of Penn State’s top players for the upcoming college football season.

Linebacker [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], offensive tackle [autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu[/autotag], and defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] were among the players listed on the preseason watch list for the Lombardi Award. The Lombardi Award is presented annually to college football’s top lineman who exemplifies the values and character of former Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. Linebackers are eligible for the award as well as long as they line up no more than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage.

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 and the Outland Trophy.

Carter started six games and played in all 13 games for Penn State in 2022. He earned All-Big Ten second-team honors and was a freshman All-American for the FWAA. He led Penn State with 10.5 tackles for loss last season and he finished fourth in the Big Ten with 6.5 sacks last season.

Carter has also appeared on the watch lists for the Bednarik Award,  Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy.

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Robinson transferred to Penn State from Maryland and he quickly asserted himself as a playmaker on the Penn State defensive line. Robinson appeared in 12 games and recorded 10 tackles for a loss with 5.5 sacks. He earned team defensive player of the week honors three times last season, including in the Rose Bowl against Utah.

Robinson also appears on the watch list for the Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Award.

Penn State has two all-time winners of the Lombardi Award. Defensive tackle Bruce Clark was the first to do so in 1978. Decades later, Carl Nassib became the second Lombardi Award winner in school history.

Last year’s winner of the Lombardi Award was Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was the most recent Big Ten player to win the Lombardi Award, doing so in 2021.

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Fashanu and Singleton named to Walter Camp Player of the Year watch list

Will either of these Penn State players win the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award in 2023?

Add one more high-profile award watch list to the profiles of two of Penn State’s top players in 2023. Veteran offensive lineman [autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu[/autotag] and sophomore running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] have each been named on the watch list for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award for the upcoming 2023 college football season.

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 list for the Outland Trophy.

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, Doak Walker Award, and the Paul Hornung Award.

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Penn State has two all-time Walter Camp Player of the Year Award winners. The first was running back John Cappelletti during his Heisman Trophy season of 1973. Running back Larry Johnson is the second and most recent winner from Penn State, winning the award in 2002.

Last year’s Walter Camp Player of the Year Award winner was USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The last Big Ten player to win the award was Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III in 2021.

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Three Penn State players land in PFF College 50

Three Penn State players make the PFF College 50 with top 20 rankings.

Pro Football Focus has been counting down its list of the top 50 players in college football this week, and a trio of Penn State’s top players in 2023 have cracked the top 20. Unless any other players appear in the top 10 in the final update to the list, that may be it for the Nittany Lions. Still, it is a good showing for the roster going into the upcoming season.

Cornerback Kalen King is the highest-ranked player on Penn State’s roster on PFF’s College 50. King missed out on the top 10 by one spot with his no. 11 ranking from PFF.

“In a recent interview with PFF, Kalen King said he gets offended when a quarterback throws his way,” The PFF article states. “If the signal-callers Penn State faces this season are smart, King shouldn’t get offended too often this season.”

Three spots behind King is Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, who is widely considered to be a potential early first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft after passing on a possible first-round draft selection in 2023.

“His 84.7 pass-blocking grade in 2022 ranked seventh among Power Five tackles and he didn’t allow a sack on 281 pass-blocking snaps,” PFF noted.

Joining King and Fashanu in the top 20 is defensive end Chop Robinson, who is coming off a stellar first season with the program after his transfer from Maryland.

“Robinson was quietly a superstar in 2022, leading all Power Five edge defenders with a 90.6 grade and a 92.4 pass-rushing grade. His 22.1% pass-rush win rate in 2022 trailed only Bralen Trice and Jared Verse in the Power Five, the only two edge defenders above him on this list,” PFF explained. “Most impressively, Robinson accomplished that as just a true sophomore, meaning his best work could still be yet to come.”

We’ll see if any Penn State players manage to crack PFF’s top 10, but this may be it for the Nittany Lions. Running back Nick Singleton has not been ranked yet, although it may be difficult to get him into the top 10 at this point.

Maybe next year!

You can see the full PFF College 50 to see what other players have made the list.

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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.

Is Olu Fashanu the favorite on the Outland Trophy watch list?

The Outland Trophy watch list is out, and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu should be among the favorites.

Watch list season continued merrily along on Tuesday with the release of a couple more preseason award watch lists for the upcoming college football season. One of the watch lists released was for the Outland Trophy and Penn State’s big man, returning offensive tackle [autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu[/autotag], was among those included on the initial watch list.

The Outland Trophy is awarded to college football’s best interior lineman, with both offensive and defensive players playing on the inside eligible to receive the award. Fashanu figures to be one of the top candidates for this year’s award after making his decision to return for another year of college football.

Fashanu is considered one of the top offensive linemen in the country this season and is already being viewed as a potential high first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Draft analysts were surprised he passed on the 2023 NFL draft despite many first-round projections for the 2023 NFL draft. And he could be considered one of the favorites for the award this season. Fashanu tied LSU’s Mekhi Wingo for the most votes among returning players for last year’s Outland Trophy.

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The Outland Trophy has been presented annually since 1946, when Notre Dame’s George Connor received the inaugural award. Penn State has had just one Outland Trophy winner in school history. That was Mike Reid in 1969, at defensive tackle.

Three finalists for the Outland Trophy will be determined following the formation of the FWAA All-America Team by the Football Writers Association of America.

Last year’s winner of the Outland Trophy was Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi. He is just the second Big Ten player to win the award since 2011, with Iowa tackle Brandon Scherff being the other in 2014.

This year’s Outland Trophy winner will be announced at the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show in December.

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Olu Fashanu among Big Ten football preseason honorees

Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu honored as one of the Big Ten’s top players to watch in 2023.

As the Big Ten got its media day frenzy underway in Indianapolis, the conference released its list of preseason honors to highlight some of the top players from around the conference. While some conferences release a full first, second, and even a third-team preseason all-conference roster, the Big Ten keeps things much simpler with a small list of the best of the best.

And this year’s list of preseason honorees from the Big Ten includes Penn State’s top NFL draft prospect, left tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu. Fashanu surprised many when he decided to return to Penn State for one more season of college football rather than turn pro in the 2023 NFL draft. His return could be a worthy gamble in the long run and gives Penn State a rock to count on at left tackle this fall.

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Fashanu was the only Penn State player to appear on the list of preseason honorees from the Big Ten. With just five spots for each division to highlight, some of the most notable names from Penn State not to make the cut include defensive end Chop Robinson and cornerback Kalen King.

Here is the full list of Big Ten football preseason honorees:

EAST

  • Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Maryland
  • Blake Corum, RB, Michigan
  • J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
  • Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
  • Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OL, Penn State

WEST

  • Jer’Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois
  • Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa
  • Brevyn Spann-Ford, TE, Minnesota
  • Tyler Nubin, DB, Minnesota
  • Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin

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ESPN calls Olu Fashanu a ‘serious contender’ to go no. 1 in 2024 NFL draft

ESPN calls Penn State offensive lineman Olu Fashanu a ‘serious contender’ to go no. 1 in the 2024 NFL draft.

When Penn State offensive lineman Olumuyiwa Fashanu decided to return to Penn State for one final season of college football in Happy Valley, it was a stunning decision across the NFL draft universe. Fashanu had been considered a likely first-round draft pick for the 2023 NFL draft had he declared for the draft. Instead, Fashanu will return to college football as one of the top offensive linemen in the nation. Could he be the first pick in next year’s NFL draft? ESPN says it is not an impossible scenario.

ESPN put potential top draft picks into various tiers for the 2024 NFL draft to determine which players are the most likely to be considered for the top pick. Fashanu landed in the exclusive “serious contender” category with just three other players, two of whom are quarterbacks.

“Quarterbacks understandably dominate the top of the draft board going into the season, but if a team that currently has a young signal-caller lands the No. 1 selection and can’t move down the board, Fashanu would likely be in consideration,” ESPN NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid explained.

And that certainly does make sense. Two of the other serious contenders for the top pick, according to this story from ESPN, are quarterbacks Caleb Williams of USC and Drake Maye of North Carolina. Quarterbacks will always be the top priority for NFL franchises, but not every team is in need of a quarterback. Oftentimes, the next best move is to add some protection for the quarterback. That is where Fashanu comes into play as a possible top pick.

Fashanu is certainly gambling a bit by coming back for another season of college football. Passing on what would likely have been first-round money is often difficult to do. But Fashanu coming back for lead to an even greater payday down the line if he lives up to the draft hype this fall. It’s one thing to be a first-round pick. It’s a whole other ball game to be the first pick.

Even if Fashanu is not the first pick overall, his being hyped as a possible candidate to go first suggests he could still be taken with one of the first few draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft. Of course, it all depends on the individual team needs for the teams coming up in the draft order.

Penn State has had two players in school history selected with the first overall pick in an NFL draft. Ironically, neither of them were a quarterback. Ki-Jana Carter was the first pick in the 1995 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, and defensive lineman Courtney Brown was the first pick in the 2000 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.

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What percentage ESPN has Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt as top overall draft pick

Might be a bit low if you ask me…

The writing has been on the wall since his freshman year, [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] offensive tackle [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag] will be an extremely early NFL draft selection.

Just how high is the question and ESPN is trying to give us an answer. Recently one of their analysts, Jordan Reid, looked at which prospects have the highest percentage chance to be selected with the top overall pick. To no one’s surprise the top two names on their board were quarterbacks, but then it got much murkier.

Penn State offensive tackle [autotag]Olumuyiwa Fashanu[/autotag] was one of the first non-quarterbacks picked and he was given a 13% chance for the top slot, with Irish offensive tackle Joe Alt just a few spots behind him at 10%.

Reid had the 6-foot, 8-inch and 315 pound tackle as his first selection for potential risers. He claims that “Alt is still a work-in-progress in many areas,” due to needing to “gain core strength and display(ing) more consistency as a run-blocker.”

Not sure how much of Alt’s tape Reid has seen, but he excels in both areas. It’s a bit odd that Fashanu is ranked higher considering he’s started just 9 games during his college career. If either should be called a project, it’s the Nittany Lion and not the soon-to-be 3rd year starter.

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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.

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