May 29, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Athlon Sports' College Football 2009 has named four Penn Staters to its pre-season All-America teams and recognized seven Nittany Lions on its All-Big Ten teams.
Junior linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights, Md.) and junior tailback Evan Royster (Fairfax, Va,) were selected as second team pre-season All-Americans and first team All-Big Ten.
Senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) and junior center Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville) were named third team pre-season All-Americans and first team all-conference.
Senior quarterback Daryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) and senior tackle Dennis Landolt (Burlington, N.J.) also were named to Athlon's first team All-Big Ten squad. Senior linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) was a second team all-conference choice as he returns to the field after missing the 2008 season with a knee injury.
Bowman, Clark and Odrick were first team All-Big Ten and Wisniewski was on the second team in 2008, helping Penn State to its second Big Ten title and Bowl Championship Series berth in the past four years.
Clark, a 2009 co-captain with Lee, is on the cover of Athlon's Penn State regional edition, which goes on sale June 2. Athlon has Penn State ranked No. 7 in its pre-season Top 25.
Penn State has earned one of the nation's Top 10 records since the start of the 2005 season, posting a 40-11 (78.4) mark, good for No. 9 nationally. The Nittany Lions finished No. 8 in the nation last year with an 11-2 record, earning its 22nd Top 10 finish under Coach Joe Paterno.
Entering his 44th season as head coach and 60th on the Penn State coaching staff, the Hall of Fame coach returns 37 letterwinners and 10 starters for the 2009 campaign. The Nittany Lions host Akron on Sept. 5 to open the season.