July 29, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A quartet of Penn State football standouts have been selected to the Sporting News Pre-season All-Big Ten squad. Sporting News selected only one pre-season all-conference team.
Earning the Sporting News nod from Coach Bill O'Brien's squad were sophomore defensive end Deion Barnes (Philadelphia), sophomore tight end Kyle Carter (Bear, Del.), junior wide receiver Allen Robinson (Southfield, Mich.) and senior guard John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.).
The 2012 Big Ten Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year, Robinson also was selected by Sporting News as the conference's player with the best hands.
All four of Penn State's Sporting News pre-season All-Big ten honorees also are candidates for individual college football awards:
- The 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Barnes is a candidate for the Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy, both of which are presented to the nation's top defensive player;
- A 2012 first-team freshman All-American, Carter is on the watch list for the Mackey Award, presented to the nation's top tight end;
- Robinson is a candidate for the Biletnikoff Award;
- A 2012 first-team All-Big Ten selection, Urschel is a candidate for the Outland Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award.
O'Brien's squad returns 16 starters and 37 letterwinners for Penn State's 127th season. Season tickets are available for the 2013 campaign and public single game tickets go on sale Tuesday, July 30 at 10 a.m. Single game tickets, including tickets for the Nov. 16-17 Kickoff to Tipoff package, will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets or 1-800-NITTANY.
The Nittany Lions will host five bowl teams from 2012, including three teams that finished in the BCS Top 25: Michigan (Oct. 12-Homecoming, 5 p.m.), Nebraska (Nov. 23) and Kent State (Sept. 21). Purdue (Nov. 16), Illinois (Nov. 2), UCF (Sept. 14, 6 p.m.) and Eastern Michigan (Sept. 7, 12 p.m.) also will visit Beaver Stadium this fall. Penn State opens its 127th season vs. Syracuse on August 31 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m.
Penn State Athletics is on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pennstatenittanylions) and Twitter (http://www.gopsusports.com/ot/socialmedia.html).