Oct. 18, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 17, 2007 - Three members of Penn State's nationally ranked defense and one member of the special teams have earned mid-season All-America recognition from a trio of outlets.
Senior All-America middle linebacker Dan Connor, sophomore defensive end Maurice Evans and junior outside linebacker Sean Lee were recognized for their efforts in helping the Penn State defense earn Top 10 national rankings in four categories. Redshirt freshman punter Jeremy Boone also was recognized for leading the Nittany Lions to the No. 3 national ranking in net punting.
The Nittany Lions are No. 5 in scoring defense (12.7 ppg), No. 7 in total defense (264.3 ypg), No. 9 in rushing defense (81.4 ypg), No. 15 in pass efficiency defense (102.6 rating) and tied for second in sacks (29). Penn State is No. 2 in the Big Ten in all five categories.
The Nittany Lions have allowed only a pair of field goals by Illinois and one touchdown by Iowa and Wisconsin over the last 10 quarters. The Penn State defense has permitted just 12 touchdowns in the past 13 games,
Connor (Wallingford) has been named a mid-season second team All-American by SI.com and CollegeFootballNews.com and a third team All-American by Phil Steele's College Football.
Lee (Pittsburgh) was selected a mid-season first team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and a fourth team All-American by Phil Steele's College Football.
Evans (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Boone (Mechanicsburg) also were chosen third team All-Americans by Phil Steele's College Football.
Selected a 2006 first team All-American by The Sporting News and a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, Connor is one of the nation's top defensive players. He was named a semifinalist for the 2007 Butkus Award today and a semifinalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award on Wednesday.
A three-year starter, Connor made 12 tackles last week in Penn State's 38-7 win over No. 19 Wisconsin to move into second place on the school career tackles list with 344, passing Greg Buttle (343; 1973-75). Connor had 1.5 TFL, with a sack, vs. the Badgers. He has moved within 29 tackles of breaking Paul Posluszny's school record of 372 hits.
Connor is fourth in the Big Ten with 70 tackles (38 solo) for a 10.0 per game average. He is second on the team and tied for fifth in the Big Ten with 10.0 TFL for minus-49 yards. The former Strath Haven High School standout is second on the team and tied for eighth in the Big Ten with 5.0 sacks (minus-43). Connor also has a fumble recovery and five pass break-ups.
In his second year as a starter, Lee has recorded 10 or more tackles in the last five games, the first Nittany Lion to do so since Posluszny in the last four games of 2004 and the first game of 2005.
Lee has led or tied for the team lead in tackles five times this season. He made a career-high 17 tackles at Illinois and has recorded 12 tackles three times this season, including in last week's win over Wisconsin.
For the season, Lee leads Penn State and is second in the Big Ten with 75 tackles (34 solo), an average of 10.7 per game. The former Upper St. Clair High School all-stater has 7.0 tackles for minus-22 yards, with 3.0 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two pass break-ups.
Evans is second in the Big Ten and tied for fifth in the nation with 14.0 tackles for minus-68 yards. He is tied for third in the conference and 10th nationally with his team-high 7.0 sacks for minus-49 yards. Evans has 27 tackles overall (17 solo) to rank fifth on the squad and has two pass break-ups.
Against Wisconsin, Evans was a disruptive force, recording 3.0 TFL for minus-22 yards, including two sacks. Against Michigan, the former Christ The King High School All-American recorded a career-high nine stops, including a game-high 4.0 TFL for minus-8 yards.
Boone is second in the Big Ten in punting with a 44.1 average on his 31 punts after leading the conference for most of the season. Boone connected on a season-best 70-yard punt at Illinois, tied for the seventh-longest in school history, and PSU's longest since Jeremy Kapinos had a 78-yard effort at Ohio State in 2004.
The former Mechanicsburg High School standout has dropped 12 punts inside the 20 and has only two touchbacks in his first season as the Lions' punter.
No. 25 Penn State (5-2, 2-2) visits Indiana (5-2, 2-2) Saturday in a critical Big Ten contest. The game will kick at 12:00 p.m. ET and air on ESPN, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com, the official website of Penn State Athletics.