| All-Americans Paul Posluszny (left) and Levi Brown today announced they will return to Penn State for their senior seasons. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., January 13, 2006 - All-Americans Levi Brown and Paul Posluszny today announced they will return to Penn State for their senior seasons.
Brown, a tackle from Norfolk, Va., and Posluszny, an outside linebacker from Aliquippa, were instrumental in leading the Nittany Lions to an 11-1 record, the Big Ten and FedEx Orange Bowl Championships and No. 3 ranking in the final polls this past season. They will be among 11 returning starters (five offense, four defense, two specialists) for the 2006 season.
"It has been a long, hard decision, but after looking at all the situations, I have decided to declare myself eligible for another year of coaching under Joe Paterno," cracked Brown to those assembled in the Beaver Stadium media room.
"I decided after speaking with my family and coaches it would be best for me to come back to Penn State and play my senior year," said Posluszny. "I am really looking forward to this coming season. I think we can have another great year."
Brown has started 34 of the last 35 games for the Nittany Lions. During the 2005 season, he was selected first team All-Big Ten and a second team All-American by the Associated Press and SI.com. The former Granby High School standout was instrumental in helping Penn State lead the Big Ten in scoring offense (35.2 ppg) in conference games and rank second in the league in all games (34.4 ppg). He helped the Nittany Lions double their scoring average from the 2004 season (17.7 ppg) and allow only 14 sacks in 12 games to rank fourth in the Big Ten.
Brown was a key reason why the Lions ranked second in the Big Ten in rushing offense (233.1 ypg) in conference games and overall (212.8 ypg), an increase of 138 yards per game from 2004 (94.6 ypg) in Big Ten contests. He helped Penn State increase its total offense in Big Ten games from 252.8 ypg in '04 to 425.1 ypg this past season (+ 172.3 ypg).
Brown earned his degree in labor and industrial relations in December in 3 1/2 years.
The 2005 Butkus and Bednarik Award winner, Posluszny emerged as one of the nation's premier defensive players this past season. A consensus All-American, Posluszny was elected a tri-captain last spring, becoming the first junior to be chosen a team captain since defensive standouts Mike Reid and Steve Smear in 1968.
In addition to being named the nation's top defensive player (Bednarik Award) and top linebacker (Butkus Award), Posluszny was a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award and a first team All-Big Ten selection.
Posluszny also earned first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors, becoming the seventh Nittany Lion to earn first team All-America and Academic All-America accolades in the same season. He owns a 3.66 grade point average in finance, earning Dean's List recognition all five semesters. Posluszny is on schedule to graduate in 3 1/2 years, at the end of the 2006 Fall semester.
During the 2005 season, Posluszny led the Nittany Lions with 116 tackles, the eighth highest total in school season history. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten in tackles with a 9.7 per game average, topped by a career-best 22 at Northwestern. A consensus first team All-American, Posluszny recorded 11 tackles for minus-38 yards, three sacks and three pass break-ups this season.
He became the first Big Ten student-athlete to earn the Football Player of the Week honor (offense, defense or special teams) three consecutive weeks since selections began in 1987.
The former Hopewell High School standout has 259 career tackles to rank seventh on the Penn State list. He needs 85 stops to break Greg Buttle's mark of 343 and become the all-time leader. He is just the fourth Penn State player to record 100 or more tackles in consecutive seasons. No one in PSU history has hit the century mark in tackles three consecutive years.
Posluszny injured his right knee late in the Nittany Lions' 26-23 triple overtime win over Florida State in the FedEx Orange Bowl. He was injured when he attempted to hurtle blocker Lorenzo Booker midway through the fourth quarter. Booker's helmet hit Posluszny's right knee, resulting in partial tears of his posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, according to Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State's Director of Athletic Medicine.
The injuries will not require surgery and Posluszny's rehabilitation is expected to take 6-8 weeks, according to Sebastianelli.
Prior to the injury, Posluszny had recorded five tackles (four solo) and broken up a pass in helping hold the Seminoles to 26 yards rushing on 26 attempts, 12 first downs and just 3 of 17 on third down conversions. The Nittany Lions limited No. 22 Florida State to 16 points in regulation.
The 2006 Blue-White Game is Saturday, April 22 in Beaver Stadium. Paterno, the consensus 2005 National Coach of the Year, will begin his 41st season as head coach on Sept. 2, when the Nittany Lions host Akron, the 2005 Mid-American Conference champion.