Oct. 21, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior defensive end Carl Nassib (West Chester, Pa.) has been added to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list and senior linebacker Ben Kline (Seven Valleys, Pa.) is a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy. Nassib joins fellow senior defensive lineman Anthony Zettel (West Branch, Mich.) on the Lott IMPACT Trophy list.
The Lott IMPACT Trophy, presented by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, is given annually to the collegiate defensive player who best exemplifies the characteristics exhibited by Ronnie Lott -- Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
The Wuerffel Trophy, known as "College Football's Premier Award for Community Service," is presented annually by the All Sports Association in Fort Walton Beach. Named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel, from the University of Florida, the Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
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. Earlier this week, he was selected to the CBS Sports, ESPN.com and SI.com Midseason All-America teams. 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.
The West Chester, Pennsylvania native 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.
Kline saw his first game action since 2013 when he took the field against Army on October 3. He has served as the President of Penn State's Uplifting Athletes chapter for the last two years. In 2014, Uplifting Athletes raised a record-breaking $140,000 for Kidney Cancer Awareness and Research at its Lift for Life event. Overall, the group raised a record $155,000 total in 2014. The 2015 Penn State Lift for Life had approximately 2,500 fans in attendance and raised $120,000. Kline was among a contingent of Nittany Lion football student-athletes to visit Washington D.C. for Rare Disease Awareness Day in the winter 2014.
The Seven Valley native has also been involved in THON and Special Olympics during his time at Penn State. He is also the co-founding a student organization this summer that benefits an orphanage in Kenya. The orphanage has an academic partnership with Penn State, and Kline's organization supports that relationship.
Additionally, Kline is a nominee for an American Rhodes Scholarship, the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Kline is also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District choice and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He posted a perfect 4.0 GPA during the 2011 summer session and 2013 spring semester. Kline has posted a 3.50 GPA or higher in 11 of his 12 semesters on campus, including summer semesters and is a six-time Dean's List selection. He graduated with his degree in finance in December 2014 with a 3.76 cumulative GPA, in just three and a half years.
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.