Oct. 20, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior defensive end Carl Nassib (West Chester, Pa.) earned spots on three Midseason All-America teams as he was a unanimous selection to the CBS Sports team and earn berths on the ESPN.com, SI.com and USAToday.com midseason squads. Additionally, Nassib was selected by CBS Sports Eye on College Football staff writers Jon Soloman, Tom Fornelli and Robby Kalland as the National Defensive Player of the Year.
Nassib and defensive tackle Austin Johnson (Galloway, N.J.) were named to ESPN.com's All-Big Ten team.
Nassib has sprung onto the national scene this year and leads FBS in sacks (11.5), tackles for loss (15.5) and forced fumbles (5). He has recorded a sack in each game this season and four multi-sack games. Nassib's 11.5 sacks this season are the most by a Nittany Lion since Aaron Maybin had 12 sacks in the 2008 season.
Additionally, Nassib is the first Penn State player to force two fumbles in two games in a season since Maurice Evans did it in 2007. Evans had two forced fumbles against Indiana and two forced fumbles against Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl. Nassib's five forced fumbles this season are the most by a Penn State player since Evans had five in the 2007 season. He was recently added to the Bednarik Award watch list for the nation's Defensive Player of the Year.
Johnson is third on the team with 40 tackles on the season. He is second on the squad with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Johnson scored his first career touchdown when he scooped up a fumble and returned it 71 yards against San Diego State. He was recently added to the Bednarik Award watch list for the nation's Defensive Player of the Year.
The Nittany Lions travel to Baltimore to face Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN, the Penn State Sports Network (2 p.m. pregame) and GoPSUsports.com.
Tickets for the Nittany Lions' last two home games are available. Penn State hosts Illinois on Oct. 31 and Michigan on Nov. 21 for Senior Day and a Penn State WhiteOut. To purchase tickets or for more information, 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.