July 3, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Sporting News' College Football 2009 has named four Penn Staters to its pre-season All-America teams and recognized six Nittany Lions on its All-Big Ten team.
A trio of juniors -- linebacker Navorro Bowman (District Heights, Md.), tailback Evan Royster (Fairfax,Va,) and center Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville) were selected second team pre-season All-Americans and first team All-Big Ten.
Senior defensive tackle Jared Odrick (Lebanon) was named a Sporting News third team pre-season All-American and first team all-conference.
Athlon Sports and Phil Steele's College Football 2009 previously had named Bowman, Odrick and Royster as pre-season All-Americans. Wisniewski was named a third team pre-season All-American by Athlon and senior linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) earned second team All-America honors by Phil Steele's.
Lee and senior quarterback Daryll Clark (Youngstown, Ohio) also were named to Sporting News' 2009 All-Big Ten squad. Penn State's six first team all-conference selections led all schools.
Sporting News ranks Lee as the Big Ten's top National Football League prospect. Clark is rated the conference's best passer and Royster is listed as the Big Ten's most elusive running back.
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 earned All-Big Ten honors in 2007 and is returning after missing the 2008 season with a knee injury.
Clark, a 2009 co-captain with Lee, is on the cover of Sporting News' Mid-Atlantic/Northeast regional edition, which is on sale at newsstands. Sporting News has Penn State ranked No. 12 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 their 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 (12:00 p.m., Big Ten Network) to open the season.