Nov. 13, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior defensive end Carl Nassib (West Chester, Pa.) is a semifinalist for the 12th Lott IMPACT Trophy presented by Mercedes-Benz USA, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation announced. The award is given to a distinguished young men represent the qualities embodied by Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott -- Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Nassib has sprung onto the national scene this year and leads FBS in sacks (15.5), tackles for loss (19.5) and forced fumbles (6). He has recorded a sack in each game this season and five multi-sack games. With one sack at Northwestern, Nassib broke the Penn State single-seaosn sacks record by upping his total to 15.5. He surpasses the mark of 15 sacks set by Larry Kubin (1979) and Michael Haynes (2002).
Additionally, Nassib's six forced fumbles this season are the most by a Penn State player since Haynes had a school-record seven in the 2002. 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.
The West Chester, Pennsylvania native was recently named a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award for the nation's Defensive Player of the Year and the Rotary Lombardi Award for the Nation's Top College Lineman (offensive or defensive). Additionally, he is a candidate for the Burlsworth Trophy for the nation's top player that started his career as a walk-on. He was also a midseason All-America choice by SI.com, ESPN.com, USAToday.com and CBS Sports.
The winner of the 2015 Lott IMPACT Trophy will be announced at The Lott IMPACT Trophy Award Banquet, held at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach on Dec. 13. The award show will be televised live on Fox Sports at 7PM PST, and will be hosted by Fox Sports' Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft. Martin Dugard, the co-author with Bill O'Reilly of the series of No. 1 best-selling "Killing" books on Lincoln, Kennedy, Jesus, Patton and Reagan will be featured as the keynote speaker.
The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation will make a $25,000 donation to the general scholarship fund of the winner's university and $5,000 to each of the schools of the runner-ups. In 10 years, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation has now donated more than $1.1 million, including over $500,000 to universities throughout the country.
The Nittany Lions are on a bye this week before returning to Beaver Stadium to meet Michigan for Senior Day and the Penn State White Out on Nov. 21. Kick time and TV arrangements will be announced at a later date. 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.