July 1, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., - The Penn State football team produced another outstanding academic performance during the Spring 2010 semester, with 39 returning squad members earning at least a 3.0 grade point average.
Among the 39 Nittany Lions, 15 earned Dean's List recognition by posting a 3.5 GPA or higher this past semester.
Three returning Nittany Lions earned a perfect 4.00 grade point average during the spring semester - junior wide receiver Ryan Scherer (Avon Lake, Ohio), redshirt freshman guard John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.) and senior guard Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville), a 2009 first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American®. Urschel also earned a 4.0 GPA during the fall semester.
A member of the Schreyer Honors College, Wisniewski has a cumulative 3.92 GPA in secondary education, having earned a 4.00 GPA the last three semesters. The 2010 first team pre-season All-American will have an opportunity to become Penn State's initial three-time Academic All-American®. He is on schedule to graduate in December.
The superlative academic performance brings the number of Nittany Lion football student-athletes to 35 who had a cumulative 3.0 GPA through the spring semester.
Among some of the other Dean's List football student-athletes last spring were: wideout Brett Brackett (Lawrenceville, N.J), linebacker Chris Colasanti (Leonard, Mich.), tight end Garry Gilliam (Carlisle), Ty Howle (Wake Forest, N.C.), Kyle Johnson (Landenberg), Pete Massaro (Newtown Square), Matt Stankiewitch (Orwigsburg), Nate Stupar (State College) and Jamie VanFleet (Williamsport).
In addition to Wisniewski, other Nittany Lions who should be Academic All-America® candidates include Colasanti, Massaro, Stankiewitch, Stupar and defensive end Kevin Latham (Greensboro, N.C.).
The superlative academic performance is the latest success in a long line of academic achievement for members of Joe Paterno's program, who consistently are near the top nationally in academic success:
- Penn State's 89 percent federal graduation rate and 85 percent Graduation Success Rate led all teams ranked in the final 2009 Associated Press Top 25 poll, according to NCAA data released in November, 2009.
- The past two years, Penn State has led all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams in first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans®. During the 2009 season, three Nittany Lions repeated their Academic All-America® accolades: (Hull, Pitz and Wisniewski). A program record five Nittany Lions were selected to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® team. Penn State has had 12 Academic All-Americans® over the past four years, including 10 first-team honorees.
During Paterno's tenure, Penn State has had 44 Academic All-Americans®, with 34 earning first team honors. The Nittany Lions' all-time total of 46 Academic All-America® football players ranks third among all FBS institutions and leads all Big Ten schools.
- Sixteen players on the 2009 Penn State squad had graduated prior to the Nittany Lions' Capital One Bowl win over LSU, with nine doing so before the season began.
The Nittany Lions are 51-13 (79.7) since the start of the 2005 season, tied for the nation's No. 7 winning percentage over that span. Penn State returns 36 letterwinners and 13 starters for the 2010 season, (7 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist), as well as 10 players that have starting experience. Penn State opens the season Sept. 4 vs. Youngstown State (12 p.m. on Big Ten Network) in Beaver Stadium and visits 2009 national champion Alabama on Sept. 11 (7 p.m. ET on ESPN).