July 9, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; July 9, 2012 - Penn State standouts Silas Redd (Norwalk, Conn.) and Gerald Hodges (Paulsboro, N.J.) are on the Watch Lists for the Maxwell and Chuck Bednarik Awards, respectively, presented by the Maxwell Football Club.
Penn State leads all colleges and universities with its seven Maxwell Award winners and its four Bednarik Award recipients.
The Maxwell Award is presented in honor of Robert W. (Tiny) Maxwell, legendary college player, official and sports columnist. First bestowed in 1937, the Maxwell Award will be presented for the 76th time to the nation's college football player of the year.
The Bednarik Award was established in 1995 and is presented in honor of linebacking great Chuck Bednarik, a member of both the College Football and NFL Halls of Fame, annually to the nation's defensive player of the year.
Redd ran for 1,241 yards last season, the 10th-highest season total in Penn State history, en route to second-team All-Big Ten honors. He became the 12th different Penn State player to post 1,000 yards rushing in a season (20 times overall) and gave the Nittany Lions a 1,000-yard rusher for the seventh consecutive season. Redd averaged 5.2 yards on his 321 attempts and scored seven rushing touchdowns, with a long carry of 42 yards.
A junior this season, Redd led all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) players with 703 rushing yards last October, including five consecutive 100-yard games. He was the first Nittany Lion with five consecutive 100-yard games since All-American Curtis Enis in 1997. A U.S. Army All-American for Coach Dan Gouin at King Low Heywood Thomas School , he gained career-high 164 yards on just 18 carries (9.1) in Penn State's 34-24 win at Northwestern on Oct. 22
A rising senior and pre-season All-American, Hodges earned first team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and ESPN.com in 2011. A probable candidate for the Butkus Award and other post-season accolades, Hodges was instrumental in Penn State having the nation's No. 5 scoring defense in 2011 and became the 22nd Nittany Lion to post at least 100 tackles in a season. He led the team with 106 tackles (60 solo), ranking in the top 15 in the Big Ten in hits (eighth) and sacks (tied-14th with 4.5). Hodges also recorded 10.0 tackles for loss, forced two fumbles, broke-up four passes and made one critical interception and 63-yard return to set-up a touchdown in the win at Northwestern.
The former Paulsboro High School All-South Jersey standout was selected Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in consecutive weeks in late October last year, becoming the first Nittany Lion to earn back-to-back conference accolades since linebacker Navorro Bowman in 2009. Selected the Touchdown Club of Southern Jersey's 2011 Division I College Player of the Year, Hodges earned his second straight honor after recording a career-high 19 tackles, with a sack and a fumble recovery, in the dramatic win over Illinois.
Penn State has had more Maxwell Award winners - seven - than any other program in the nation. Rich Lucas was the first Nittany Lion to receive the honor, winning in 1959, followed by Glenn Ressler (1964), Mike Reid (1969), John Cappelletti (1973), Chuck Fusina (1978), Kerry Collins (1994) and Larry Johnson (2002).
Penn State football student-athletes have won the Chuck Bednarik Award a nation's best four times - LaVar Arrington in 1999, Paul Posluszny in 2005 and 2006, and Dan Connor in 2007. Defensive tackle Devon Still was a Bednarik Award finalist in 2011.
Semifinalists for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced October 29, and the three finalists for each award will be unveiled November 19. The winners of the 2011 Maxwell and Bednarik Awards will be announced as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show held on December 6. The formal presentation of these awards will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Harrah's Entertainment Atlantic City on March 1, 2013.
The watch list candidates have been chosen by the Maxwell Football Club's selection committee, evaluating past performance and future potential. All members of the Maxwell Football Club, NCAA sports information directors, head coaches and selected national media are eligible to vote for the awards. The Maxwell and Bednarik Awards are members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA).
Coach Bill O'Brien's squad returns 34 letterwinners and nine starters for the upcoming season, as well as 16 players that have starting experience, having made a combined total of 77 starts among them.
Season tickets are available for the 2012 season, with the Nittany Lions hosting five teams that played in a bowl game last year, starting with Ohio on Sept. 1 (12 p.m.). Penn State also will host Ohio State (Oct. 27), Wisconsin (Nov. 24-Senior Day), Northwestern (Oct. 6-Homecoming), Indiana (Nov. 17), Navy (Sept. 15-Military Appreciation Day) and Temple (Sept. 22-All-University Day) in Beaver Stadium this fall.
For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can go to www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets or call 1-800-648-8269 (1-800-NITTANY) weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The pricing of 2012 Penn State football game tickets and accompanying donation levels is the same as in 2011.
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