Jan. 5, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A pair of Penn State offensive linemen have accepted invitations to the two most prestigious all-star contests, with guard Miles Dieffenbach (Pittsburgh) heading to the 90th East-West Shrine Game and tackle Donovan Smith (Owings Mills, Md.) accepting the invite to become the third Nittany Lion to participate in the 66th Reese's Senior Bowl.
Smith becomes the 31st player in Penn State history to be selected to play in the Senior Bowl in the last 15 years, joining safety Adrian Amos (Baltimore) and linebacker Mike Hull (Canonsburg) as Nittany Lions to accept invitations for this year's game. Kickoff for the game is slated for 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 24 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. NFL Network will televise the contest.
The 75th Penn Stater to play in the East-West Shrine Game all-time, Dieffenbach will take part in the all-star contest on Jan. 17, 2015 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and the game will be shown the NFL Network.
Smith started 31 of 37 career games at left tackle, missing two games this season due to injury, and becomes the 111th player all-time to participate in the Senior Bowl. Dieffenbach made his 26th career start in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, starting all 12 games in 2013 before missing the first eight games of 2014 due to injury.
The duo paved the way for 19 100-yard rushing games during their careers and helped quarterback Christian Hackenberg set the freshman and sophomore passing records in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and Matt McGloin top the senior passing mark in 2012.
Dieffenbach and Smith lined up side-by-side on the left side of the offensive line to help protect the blind side McGloin and Hackenberg over the past three seasons. McGloin and Hackenberg own three of the top four single season passing totals in school history, with McGloin throwing for a school record 3,266 yards in 2012.
In the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, the tandem helped protect Hackenberg, who set or tie nine Penn State single game bowl records. The sophomore signal caller threw for a bowl record 371 yards on 34-of-50 passing (both bowl records) and tossed a bowl record-tying four touchdown passes. He engineered his fifth career fourth quarter or overtime game winning drive and tied the Penn State bowl record with a 72-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin to open the scoring vs. Boston College.
Coach James Franklin's Nittany Lions return 16 starters (8 offense, 7 defense, 1 specialist), and 14 additional players who have started, for the 2015 season. The Blue-White Game is Saturday, April 18 in Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions open next season on Saturday, Sept. 5 vs. Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Penn State season ticket renewals are underway for the 2015 campaign. The Nittany Lion Club donation and season ticket payment deadline is February 1 for participation in the Beaver Stadium Virtual VenueTM Seat Selection. 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 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.
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