July 6, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - Junior Mike Gesicki (Manahawkin, N.J.) is the latest Nittany Lion to appear on a preseason watch list as he was among the candidates for the 2016 John Mackey Award. The Mackey Awards is given annually to the most outstanding collegiate tight end. The award is named after NFL Hall of Fame member John Mackey, who is considered to be the best to have played the tight end position.
Gesicki is the veteran of the Penn State tight end corps after appearing in 25 of 26 games in his career. As a sophomore, he had 13 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown. He averaged 10.4 yards per game. Gesicki pulled in a career-high three catches for 14 yards against Buffalo and hauled in a 33-yard touchdown catch against Army. As a true freshman, Gesicki was named to the BTN.com Big Ten All-Freshman team after making 11 catches for 114 yards.
On Tuesday, running back Saquon Barkley (Coplay, Pa.) and junior wide receiver Chris Godwin (Middletown, Del.) were named to the Maxwell Award watch list for the National Player of the Year, while junior linebacker Jason Cabinda (Flemington, N.J.) is a nominee for the Bednarik Award for the National Defensive Player of the Year.
Penn State opens the 2016 campaign against Kent State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, September 3. Season tickets for the 2016 campaign, which includes five Big Ten home games for the first time, are on sale, with nearly 3,700 new season tickets having been sold. 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, the Recent Graduate program (35 percent discount on season tickets) as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 9 a.m-4:30 p.m.