July 9, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach James Franklin and seniors Jordan Lucas (New Rochelle, N.Y.), Angelo Mangiro (Roxbury, N.J.) and Anthony Zettel (West Branch, Mich.) will comprise the Penn State contingent for the 44th Annual Big Ten Kickoff in Chicago on July 30-31. Penn State will participate in events on Friday, July 31.
The nation's largest conference preseason public event includes autograph and photo sessions for fans, breakout media sessions with outlets from around the country and a luncheon that features comments from all 14 head coaches.
Franklin is entering his second season in Happy Valley. He led the Nittany Lions to a 7-6 record in his first season, including a 31-30 overtime win over Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. In his fifth season as a collegiate head coach, Franklin led his first four teams to a bowl game with wins in the postseason the last three years. Franklin is just the third Penn State coach to lead the team to at least seven wins in his first season, joining Dick Harlow (1915) and Bill O'Brien (2012). In February 2015, the Nittany Lions' highly-regarded class of 25 signees was ranked in the Top 15 nationally by the four major recruiting services.
The Nittany Lions have also excelled in the classroom under Franklin. In the 2014 fall semester, the football student-athletes set program records with 25 student-athletes earning Dean's List recognition (3.5 GPA), 57 players owning a cumulative 3.0 grade-point average (GPA) or higher and 21 true freshmen posting a 3.0 GPA or better. The spring of 2015 saw continued success in the classroom with 51 student-athletes compiling at least a 3.0 GPA, marking the first time in program history with 50 or more 3.0s in a spring semester.
Lucas has been a preseason first-team All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele and a second-team All-Big Ten choice by Lindy's. An honorable-mention All-Big Ten pick last season, Lucas is the unquestioned leader of the secondary. His 58 stops in 2014 ranked third on the team and his nine pass breakups ranked among the best in the Big Ten. Lucas notched a career-best 2.0 sacks last season, including a key fourth quarter takedown of Tyler Murphy in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl victory over Boston College. Lucas closed the season strong, making 20 stops in his final three games, including a season-high-tying seven stops against the Eagles in the overtime bowl victory.
Mangiro is among the candidates on The Rimington Trophy Watch List for the Most Outstanding Center in NCAA FBS Division I. He was the leader of a young offensive line corps in 2014, starting every game and making starts at three different positions. He made 10 starts at center, two at right tackle and one at right guard. His efforts up front helped Penn State amass over 300 yards of total offense on seven occasions in 2014, including 453 yards vs. Boston College in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. Mangiro was instrumental in protecting Hackenberg, who continued to climb the career passing charts, ending the season ranked among the top three in passing yards, attempts and completions.
Zettel is a nominee for the Bednarik Award for the National Defensive Player of the Year and claimed preseason first-team All-America accolades from Phil Steele. After moving from defensive end to defensive tackle in 2014, Zettel enjoyed his most productive season on the field in the blue and white. A fourth-team All-America selection by Athlon Sports and an All-Big Ten first-team pick by both the coaches and media, Zettel logged career-best totals with 17 tackles-for-loss and 8.0 sacks. His 16.0 career sacks rank tied for No. 15 in Penn State history and his 27.0 career TFLs are just five shy of entering the top-15 in the PSU record books. Zettel was the only FBS player to rank among the national leaders in sacks and interceptions per game in 2014. The athletic defensive lineman nabbed three interceptions, the most by a PSU defensive lineman since at least 1959, to tie for the team lead in the category and added one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and eight pass deflections.
The Nittany Lions open the 2015 campaign on the road against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 5 at 3:30 p.m. Season, partial season and single game tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale, with nearly 4,000 new season tickets having been sold. To purchase tickets or 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 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.