Jan. 14, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Defensive end Carl Nassib (West Chester, Pa.) added another honor to his illustrious senior season as he was selected as the CBS Sports National Defensive Player of the Year. The senior defensive end filled his trophy case this year after leading the NCAA in sacks (15.5) and forced fumbles (6).
Nassib became the 13th unanimous consensus All-American in program history and the 41st overall after a suburb senior campaign. He was also the winner of the the 46th Rotary Lombardi Award for the nation's top lineman (offense or defense) or linebacker, the 14th Ted Hendricks Award for the nation's top defensive end and the Lott IMPACT Trophy for the top defensive player that represent the qualities embodied by Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott -- Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
In a breakout season, Nassib has collected first team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), AutoNation Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Walter Camp, Associated Press, Sporting News, ESPN.com, SI.com, CBS Sports and Athlon Sports. He also claimed USA Today second team accolades.
He was a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy (top player that started his career as a walk-on), the Nagurski Trophy (nation's top defensive player) and Bednarik Award (nation's top defensive player).
The West Chester, Pennsylvania native was picked as the Big Ten's Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and earned first team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media. He is the sixth Nittany Lion to take home Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year accolades since 1998. He joins LaVar Arrington (1998), Courtney Brown (1999), Michael Haynes (2002), Jared Odrick (2009) and Devon Still (2011) on the list of Penn State honorees.
Despite playing only four snaps in the last two regular-season games due to injury, Nassib led FBS in sacks (15.5) and forced fumbles (6) and was 11th in FBS and second in the Big Ten in tackles for loss (19.5). He is the first Nittany Lion to lead the country in a statistical category since Larry Johnson's 2002 rushing title. With one sack at Northwestern, Nassib broke the Penn State single-season 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. Nassib was a midseason All-America choice by SI.com, ESPN.com, USAToday.com and CBS Sports.
Penn State season ticket renewals and Nittany Lion Club membership renewals also are underway for the 2016 campaign, which includes five Big Ten home games for the first time. The ticket invoice and Nittany Lion Club renewal deadline is Feb. 1, 2016. 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 2016 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 from 10 a.m-6 p.m.