Dec. 1, 2014
VIDEO: Highlights & Interviews with Penn State's All-Big Ten Honorees| 2014 All-Big Ten Teams
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Four Penn State Football student-athletes have been selected All-Big Ten in voting by the conference coaches and media, with one Nittany Lion standout earning a prestigious individual honor.
Senior Mike Hull (Canonsburg) leads the Nittany Lions' contingent, as he was selected the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year. The conference's leading tackler and All-America candidate also was named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. Hull joins All-American Michael Mauti as recipients of the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year Award, giving LinebackerU two of the award's initial four recipients.
Junior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel (West Branch, Mich.) also was selected first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. Hull and Zettel were named to the BTN.com All-Big Ten first-team on Sunday.
Senior placekicker Sam Ficken (Valparaiso, Ind.) was selected second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. Ficken broke the Penn State season field goal record with his 23rd successful field goal (in 28 attempts) last Saturday against No. 10 Michigan State.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (Fredericksburg, Va). earned second-team all-conference accolades by the media. The Big Ten's leading receiver all season, Hamilton was selected Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice this season, the second-highest total in the conference.
Seven of Coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten recognition, six of whom return for 2015: senior safety Adrian Amos (Baltimore), junior defensive end Deion Barnes (Philadelphia), junior tight end Jesse James (Glassport), sophomore defensive tackle Austin Johnson (Galloway, N.J.), junior cornerback Jordan Lucas (New Rochelle, N.Y.), junior center Angelo Mangiro (Roxbury, N.J.) and junior cornerback Trevor Williams (Baltimore).
Senior safety Ryan Keiser (Selinsgrove) was named Penn State's Sportsmanship receipient.
The All-Big Ten teams and several position awards were announced this evening during BTN Live. Additional awards will be announced Tuesday at 6 p.m. on BTN Live.
Penn State has had 43 first-team All-Big Ten selections since 2005 and 28 second-team honorees, for a total of 71 over the past 10 seasons. During the past three seasons, the Nittany Lions have had six individual Big Ten award winners, including Freshman of the Year Deion Barnes (2012) and Christian Hackenberg (2013).
Hull and Zettel have been instrumental in helping Penn State rank in the FBS Top 10 in rushing defense (1st, 84.8 ypg), total defense (3rd, 269.8 ypg), scoring defense (9th, 17.7 ppg), pass efficiency defense (3rd, 99.71) and third down conversion pct. defense (6th, .301). Penn State, Clemson and Wisconsin are the only teams ranked in Top 10 in all five of the above categories. The Nittany Lions have held 11 of 12 opponents under 300 yards of total offense, with only Northwestern (361) cracking the 300-yard mark
A senior co-captain, Hull leads the Big Ten in tackles with 134 total tackles (11.2 tpg), averaging at least 1.9 tpg more than every other Big Ten player. He ranks seventh nationally in stops and also leads the Big Ten in tackles in conference games only (96, 12.0 tpg). Hull has recorded 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and three pass break-ups. Hull has led Penn State in tackles in 11 of 12 games this season, with eight double figure games and three games with nine stops. He ranks No. 6 on Penn State's career tackles list with 288 and also is No. 6 on the Penn State season tackles list with 134.
Hull becomes the ninth Nittany Lion linebacker selected first-team All-Big Ten a total of 13 times. The former Canon-McMillan High School All-American made a career-high 19 tackles vs. Ohio State, had 16 stops vs. Northwestern and 13 in Saturday's game with No. 10 Michigan State. Hull is on pace to become just the fifth Penn State player since 1975 to average at least 11.0 tackles per game, joining Greg Buttle (1974, '75), Andre Collins (1989), Shawn Mayer (2002) and Dan Connor (2007).
"It means a lot to me; all of the hard work has been paying off," Hull said. "I'm just so honored to be able to receive this award. It's not possible without the great teammates around me and the coaching staff that puts us in great position to make plays every week."
A junior, Zettel leads the team with 15.0 tackles for loss (14 solos; minus-65 yards) and 8.0 sacks (minus-46 yds). He is tied for No. 4 in the Big Ten in sacks and No. 4 in tackles for loss for the nation's No. 1 ranked rushing defense. Zettel has made 36 tackles (23 solo), is tied for the team lead with three interceptions, has one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and five pass break-ups, which rank No. 3 on the team. The former Ogemaw Heights High School standout Zettel has three interceptions this season, all in Big Ten games, the most by a Penn State defensive lineman since at least 1982. Zettel grabbed his second interception of the season vs. Ohio State, returning it 40 yards for a touchdown, for Penn State's first "Pick Six" since 2009.
Zettel is the 15th Nittany Lion defensive lineman selected first-team All-Big Ten a total of 18 times.
"It really shows that all of the defense's hard work has really paid off," Zettel said. "I'm really excited for this defense and this team. I really enjoyed playing alongside Austin Johnson, Deion (Barnes) and C.J. (Olaniyan). It was just a really enjoyable year."
A senior co-captain, Ficken leads the Big Ten in field goals made per game (1.92 pg), good for No. 3 among all FBS placekickers. Having made 23 of 28 field goals attempts this season, he ranks 11 nationally in field goal accuracy (82.1). A semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-kicker Award, Ficken owns the Penn State season field goal record (23) and is No. 2 with 53 career field goals made. The former Valparaiso High School standout leads the team in scoring for the third consecutive year, with 93 points (23-28 FG, 24-24 PAT) and ranks fourth on the school career scoring list with 264 points. His 54-yard field goal vs. Kent State in 2013 was the longest field goal ever made by a Penn State player in Beaver Stadium history (since 1960). Ficken was selected Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season and four times in his career.
"It's a good feeling. Obviously a lot of hard work and dedication went into it," said Ficken. "I'm excited about it. I'm pretty happy about how the season went for me. There are obviously a few kicks I'd like to get back, but overall I couldn't have asked for a better senior year."
Hamilton broke the Penn State freshman records for receptions and receiving yards in his first career game, with 11 catches for 165 yards, to launch a superb redshirt freshman season. Over the next 11 games, he has added the school record for receptions in a game with 14 vs. Ohio State, as well as the freshmen season receptions and yardage records, having made 75 catches for 848 yards (11.3) and one touchdown. His 75 catches (6.2 avg.) lead the Big Ten and rank No. 3 in a season in Penn State history, trailing only All-American Allen's Robinson's 77 and 97 in 2012 and '13, respectively. The former Mountain View High School standout is the only FBS freshman averaging more than 5.7 receptions per game and among only six freshmen nationally averaging at least 70 receiving yards per contest.
"It means a lot, and it is a great feeling, but all of the honors and accolades go to the team," Hamilton said. "Without the rest of the group and the offense, I wouldn't have been able to do half of these things. Missing last year (due to an injury) really put things in perspective and humbled me. It made me want to get out there more hungry for this season."
The Nittany Lions concluded their regular season on Saturday and are eligible to participate in their 45th bowl game all-time, with the Big Ten bowl selections announced the evening of Sunday, Dec. 7.
As a benefit of membership, Nittany Lion Club members can request bowl tickets by logging onto Account Manager at GoPSUsports.com/bowlcentral to review the listing of the Big Ten-affiliated bowl games the Nittany Lions could be selected to play in. Nittany Lion Club members can then select the bowls they are interested in purchasing tickets for. Credit cards will not be charged until Penn State's bowl destination and opponent are announced on Dec. 7.
Nittany Lion Club members can also call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., to request bowl tickets. NLC members have until 5 p.m. on Dec. 9 to request their bowl tickets. The ability to request tickets does not guarantee a Nittany Lion Club member will receive tickets from Penn State's allotment.
Should any tickets from Penn State's bowl allotment remain available after the Nittany Lion Club sale, the public can purchase bowl tickets starting at 10 a.m. on December 10 at GoPSUsports.com/bowlcentral or 1-800-NITTANY.
Penn State season ticket renewals also are underway for the 2015 campaign. There will not be any increase in the price of Penn State football season tickets or Nittany Lion Club donation levels for next season. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2015 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office (weekdays, 10 a.m-6 p.m.).
Penn State Football is on Twitter (@PennStateFball) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/PSUFball).
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