June 9, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Phil Steele's College Football 2009 has named four Penn Staters to its pre-season All-America teams and recognized 12 Nittany Lions on its All-Big Ten teams.
Senior linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) and junior tailback Evan Royster (Fairfax,Va,) were selected second team pre-season All-Americans and first team All-Big Ten.
Junior linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights, Md.) and senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) were named third team pre-season All-Americans and first team all-conference.
Bowman, Odrick and Royster previously were named pre-season All-Americans by Athlon Sports' College Football 2009.
Senior tackle Dennis Landolt (Burlington, N.J.) and junior center Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville) also were named to Phil Steele's first team All-Big Ten squad. Penn State's six first team all-conference selections led all schools.
Senior punter Jeremy Boone (Mechanicsburg) was named second team all-conference. Senior quarterback Daryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) and junior guard Lou Eliades (Ocean, N.J.) were named third team All-Big Ten. Sophomore tailback Stephfon Green (Bronx, N.Y.), junior defensive tackle Abe Koroma (Hershey) and senior cornerback A.J. Wallace (Waldorf, Md.) were named fourth team all-conference by Phil Steele's.
Bowman, Clark and Odrick were 2008 first team All-Big Ten and Wisniewski was on the second team, helping Penn State to its second Big Ten title and Bowl Championship Series berth in the past four years.
Lee, a 2009 co-captain with Clark, is on the cover of Phil Steele's Mid-Atlantic/Northeast regional edition, which goes on sale today. Phil Steele's has Penn State ranked No. 5 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.