Junior punter Blake Gillikin (Smyrna, Ga.) and senior quarterback Trace McSorley (Ashburn, Va.) were named CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 for their accomplishments in the classroom and on the field. Gillikin collects all-district accolades for the second-straight season. The pair is now on the ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America.
Gillikin has a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA as a kinesiology major. He received the President's Award for freshmen in 2016 and was presented with The Evan Pugh Scholar Award, given to those juniors and seniors who are in the upper 0.5 percent of their respective classes, in May 2018. Gillikin is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
The Smyrna, Georgia native ranks tied for third on Penn State's career punting average chart with a 42.9 career average. His 42.7 average this season is No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 37 in FBS. Gillikin has been a game-changer for the Nittany Lions, pinning opponents inside their own 10-yard line 34 times in his career, including nine times this year. Against Michigan, Gillikin booted a career-long 74-yard punt, which is tied for the fourth-longest punt in program history with Anthony Fera (2010 vs. Iowa).
McSorley graduated in May with a 3.31 grade-point average (GPA) in accounting. He is working toward his second undergraduate degree in journalism. He is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. He spent the summer of 2017 interning for Merrill Lynch and Bank of America in State College.
The native of Ashburn, Virginia is a National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete, a finalist for the Ninth Annual Pop Warner National College Football Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® Presented by A.O. Smith, and a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award for the Collegiate Player of the Year, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Jason Witten Man of the Year.
McSorley owns the Penn State career records for: passing yards (9,240), passing touchdowns (72), total offense (10,759), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (27), touchdowns responsible for (99), 300-yard passing games (10) and 200-yard passing games (26). He is also the school season record holder for: passing yards (3,614; 2016), completions (284; 2017), passing touchdowns (29; 2016), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (11; 2017), total offense (4,061; 2017), touchdowns responsible for (37; 2017), 300-yard passing games (5; 2016, 2017) and is tied for the top spot in 200-yard passing games (11; 2016, 2017). McSorley threw at least one touchdown pass in 34-straight games, from the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl until the Indiana game in 2018, a Penn State record and the fifth-longest in FBS Power Five history.
A limited number of single game tickets for the 2018 season presented by PSECU are available for Maryland. Verified resale tickets are available for all remaining home games via ticketmaster.com. 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.
