Sept. 2, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State senior linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) has been named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The honor recognizes student-athletes who excel on and off the field, weighing notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
Lee is poised to make his much-anticipated return to the field after being sidelined for the 2008 season with a knee injury and will team with Navorro Bowman and Josh Hull to again give "Linebacker U" one of the nation's top units.
An exceptional leader with an tremendous passion for the game, he will serve as a team co-captain for the season. Lee has been named a first team All-Big Ten and second team All-America selection by Phil Steele's 2009 College Football and is a candidate for the Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik and Rotary Lombardi Awards.
As a junior in 2007, Lee delivered a superlative season, recording 138 tackles, ranking him fifth on the Penn State season list and No. 2 in the Big Ten, behind teammate Dan Connor. He was recognized as a second team All-Big Ten selection and earned defensive MVP honors in the 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl.
One of the team's most service-oriented members, Lee has participated in the THON Make-A-Wish Program, student-athlete reading program, Habitat for Humanity and the Pennsylvania Special Olympics State Summer Games.
A dedicated student, Lee possesses a grade point average above 3.00 in finance. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, he is on schedule to graduate in December.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community, and competition.
Lowe's will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner in early January.
Coach Joe Paterno's No. 9/8 Nittany Lions open the 2009 season on Sat., Sept. 5, hosting Akron in Beaver Stadium at 12:00 p.m. The game will air on the Big Ten Network, the Penn State Sports Network and www.GoPSUsports.com.