Dec. 7, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 7, 2011 - Dominating defensive tackle Devon Still (Wilmington, Del.) has been selected Penn State's 96th first-team All-American, earning a spot on the CBSsports.com All-America Team.
A starter in 24 games the past two seasons, Still is the 82nd Penn State football student-athlete to earn first team All-America recognition, a total of 96 times, dating back to W.T. (Mother) Dunn's selection to the Walter Camp All-America squad in 1906.
A senior co-captain, Still is the Nittany Lions' 22nd first team All-American since starting Big Ten Conference competition in 1993 (26 total selections). Penn State has earned 10 first team All-America honorees in the past seven seasons.
The 2011 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year, Still is the seventh Penn State defensive lineman to earn first-team All-America accolades since 1999.
Still recently was selected the first Big Ten Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year and as the conference's Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year. Last Friday in Indianapolis, Still received the lineman honor from award namesake Courtney Brown, a first-team Penn State All-American in 1999.
The former Howard Tech standout is a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented to the nation's top defensive player. He also is a finalist for the Outland Trophy, awarded to the nation's premier interior lineman. The Bednarik and Outland honors will be presented Thursday at the College Football Awards Show (9 p.m. on ESPN). The Nagurski Trophy winner will be announced Monday night.
Still is the fifth Nittany Lion to be selected Big Ten Defensive Player of Year since 1998. He and former teammate Jared Odrick (2009) are the only defensive tackles who have earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
For the season, Still is second in the Big Ten in solo tackles for loss (15.0) and is tied for third in overall TFL (17.0-minus 77), leading a Penn State defense that ranks in the Top 10 nationally in scoring, total, pass and pass efficiency defense. Still is among the conference leaders with 4.5 sacks (minus-36) and has recorded 55 tackles, with one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a pass break-up.
No. 22 Penn State and Wisconsin tied for the Big Ten Leaders Division title with 6-2 records. The Nittany Lions (9-3) will play No. 19 Houston (12-1) in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas on Jan. 2. Penn State's 27 bowl wins are No. 3 nationally and 43 bowl visits are good for No. 8 in the nation. The Nittany Lions lead all Big Ten teams in bowl victories and winning percentage (65.1, 27-14-2 record) and are No. 2 in bowl appearances.
Playing in a New Year's bowl game for the sixth time in the last seven years, tickets for Penn State's clash with Houston are on sale at www.GoPSUsports.com or by calling 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
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