July 20, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior tight end Jonathan Holland (Brandywine, Md.) garnered a spot on the 2018 John Mackey Award preseason watch list and junior center Connor McGovern (Larksville, Pa.) is among the candidates on the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy for the nation's most outstanding center.
The Mackey Award 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. Mike Gesick was a finalist for the honor in 2017.
The Rimington Trophy is given annually to the most outstanding center. The award is named for former University of Nebraska standout Dave Rimington and benefits the Boomer Esiason Foundation for cystic fibrosis. A.Q. Shipley is Penn State's lone Rimington Trophy winner in 2008.
Holland appeared in 12 games last season, seeing time on offense and special teams. He made his first career reception, an 8-yard grab on Billy Fessler's first career completion, against Georgia State. He also had catches against Iowa and Michigan State last season. Holland returned a pair of kickoffs at Ohio State for 9 yards. As a redshirt freshman in 2016, Holland was a special teams mainstay in 12 games.
McGovern moved from guard to center prior to the 2017 season. He was the keystone for a line which helped the offense that finished seventh in FBS in scoring offense (41.1) and 19th in total offense (460.3). The Nittany Lions broke the Penn State record for points scored (534) and finished second in program history in yards per play (6.58) and total offense yards (5984). The native of Larksville, Pennsylvania, blocked for 2017 Paul Hornung Award winner and fourth-place Heisman Trophy finisher Saquon Barkley and All-Big Ten second team quarterback Trace McSorley. Barkley and McSorley posted back-to-back seasons with 1,000 rushing yards and 3,000 passing yards, respectively, becoming the first tandem in Big Ten history to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons.
Seven different Nittany Lions have been named to preseason watch lists. They include: junior tight end Jonathan Holland â€" Mackey Award (most outstanding collegiate tight end); junior center Connor McGovern â€" Rimmington Trophy (nation's top center); senior quarterback Trace McSorley â€" Maxwell Award (National Player of the Year), Davey O'Brien Award (nation's top quarterback); junior defensive end Shareef Miller â€" Bednarik Award (National Defensive Player of the Year); junior running back Miles Sanders â€" Doak Walker Award (nation's top running back); senior safety Nick Scott â€" Allstate AFCA Good Works Team; head coach James Franklin â€" Bobby Dodd Trophy (nation's top coach).
The Nittany Lions' home schedule features five Big Ten Conference games, including visits from 2017 Big Ten Championship Game participants Ohio State and Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions open the season against Appalachian State (Sept. 1; 3:30 p.m.) and Kent State (Sept. 15; noon) in non-conference action. In Big Ten play, Penn State welcomes Ohio State (Sept. 29), Michigan State (Oct. 13; 3:30/4 p.m.), Iowa (Oct. 27), Wisconsin (Nov. 10) and Maryland (Nov. 24) to Happy Valley.
More than 6,300 new season tickets have been sold for the 2018 season presented by PSECU. The public single game sale takes place beginning June 26. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.NittanyLionClub.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.