Dec. 19, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 19, 2014 - Several Penn State football standouts have earned All-Big Ten and All-America honors from Athlon Sports, Phil Steele's College Football and Scout.
The All-America count for senior linebacker Mike Hull (Canonsburg) has risen to eight with his selection as a Phil Steele's second-team All-American and a third-team Athlon Sports All-American. The Big Ten Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, Hull led the conference with 134 stops, an average of 11.2 tackles per game.
Junior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel (West Branch, Mich.) has earned his first All-America selection, garnering Athlon Sports fourth-team accolades. Hull and Zettel also were named first-team All-Big Ten by Athlon and Phil Steele's, adding to their previous first-team nods by the coaches, media, BTN.com and ESPN.com.
In addition to Hull and Zettel's first-team honors, Hamilton and senior placekicker Sam Ficken (Valparaiso, Ind.) were named Phil Steele's College Football second-team All-Big Ten. Junior defensive end Deion Barnes (Philadelphia) and junior cornerback Jordan Lucas (New Rochelle, N.Y.) earned Phil Steele's third-team all-conference honors.
A trio of Nittany Lions were named to the Athlon Sports Freshman All-America team. Tackle Andrew Nelson (Hershey) earned second-team honors, while safety Marcus Allen (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (Fredericksburg, Va.) were named to the third-team. The Big Ten's leading receiver with 75 catches, Hamilton also was named a College Football News second-team Freshman All-American. Nelson garnered Scout second-team Freshman All-America accolades.
The Penn State defense ranks in the FBS Top 10 in all of the primary statistical categories: rushing defense (1st, 84.8 ypg), total defense (2nd, 269.8 ypg), scoring defense (8th, 17.7 ppg), pass efficiency defense (2nd, 99.71) and third down conversion pct. defense (6th, .301). The Nittany Lions are No. 1 in the Big Ten in rushing, total, scoring and pass efficiency defense.
Coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions and Boston College will clash in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27 in their 24th all-time meeting and Penn State's 45th bowl appearance. The teams last met in 2004. The New Era Pinstripe Bowl will kick at 4:30 p.m. ET in Yankee Stadium (49,542) and air on ESPN, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State students, Nittany Lion Club and Penn State Alumni Association members have purchased more than 11,000 tickets for the Pinstripe Bowl, including nearly 1,300 student tickets. Penn State's original ticket allotment was 7,692. Pinstripe Bowl tickets and information on all the related bowl events can be found at www.pinstripebowl.com.
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).