Number of Penn State Football Players up for Awards

| July 22, 2018


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – As the 2018 college football season gears up, a number of Penn State players are up for awards or are on watch lists.

(Photo of Trace McSorley. Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)

Nittany Lions named to watch lists or up for awards including junior running back Miles Sanders (Doak Walker), senior quarterback Trace McSorley (Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award), junior defensive end Shareef Miller (Bednarik Award) and senior safety Nick Scott (All-State AFCA Good Works Team). Also, head coach James Franklin is on the Bobby Dodd Trophy watch list.

For McCosrley, the Maxwell Award goes to the National Player of the Year and the Davey O’Brien Award to the Quarterback of the Year.

McSorley, who is a two-time captain, enters his final season in the Blue & White having thrown a touchdown pass in 28-straight games, the longest active streak in FBS. He holds the Penn State career records for completion percentage (61.8), passing efficiency (152.9), passing touchdowns (59) and total offense (8,268). He also owns the Penn State season marks for passing yards (3,614; 2016), completions (284; 2017), passing touchdowns (29; 2016), total offense (4,061; 2017), 300-yard passing games (5; 2016 and 2017), 200-yard passing games (11; 2016 and 2017) and touchdowns responsible for (37; 2017). In 2017, McSorley became just the second player in Big Ten history to have 25 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing scores in the same season, joining Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett (2014 and 2017). He is also one of seven players in Big Ten history to record back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons. Last season, McSorley earned his second consecutive berth on the All-Big Ten second team as selected by the coaches and media. McSorley was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and Manning Award in 2017.

Sanders is on the Doak Walker preseason list for the nation’s premier running back or his accomplishments on the field, achievement in the classroom and citizenship in the community. It is the only major collegiate football award that requires all candidates to be on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification. The award is presented annually by the SMU Athletic Forum.

Penn State’s lone Doak Walker Award winner was Larry Johnson in 2002. Ki-Jana Carter, Curtis Enis and Saquon Barkley were finalists for the award in 1994, 1997 and 2017, respectively.

Sanders appeared in 12 games a season ago as the backup to Barkley and averaged 6.2 yards per carry and had two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 30 yards in 2017. Sanders has been a weapon on special teams the last two seasons, accounting for 20.1 yards per kickoff return. He broke the Penn State season record with 33 kickoff returns in 2016 and his 688 return yards that season rank second in program history.

The Bednarik Award is for the National Defensive Player of the Year, and Miller is a candidate after collecting third-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and honorable mention accolades from the league’s coaches in 2017. A member of the midseason Bednarik Award watch list in 2017, he led the team with 5.0 sacks and 11.0 tackles for loss. Miller earned a spot on the Pro Football Focus (PFF) Big Ten Team of the Week after registering a pair of tackles and two quarterback hurries against Michigan (10/21). He was also selected to the PFF Big Ten Team of the Week following his two TFL effort against Nebraska (11/18). Miller was ninth on the team with 37 tackles a year ago. He also recorded nine quarterback hurries, a fumble recovery and a safety in 2017.

The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team is comprised of 11 players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA and one honorary head coach. To be in consideration by Allstate and the AFCA for a nomination, each player must be actively involved with a charitable organization or service group while maintaining a strong academic standing.

Scott, who is a two-time captain, had 33 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, in 2017. He scooped up a fumble against Indiana, which was forced by Irvin Charles on Hooiser punt return, and took it 13 yards for his second career touchdown. He previously had a rushing touchdown against Army in 2015. A leader on special teams, Scott finished third on the team with nine tackles on special teams with eight coming on kickoffs and one on punt coverage in 2017. In addition to his success on the field, Scott has been active in the community. He danced independently in THON, the world’s largest student-run philanthropy, in 2018, raising more than $12,300 for the cause. He has also made visits to Penn State Children’s Hospital with the team and participated in Lift for Life, which raises money for rare diseases, and Special Olympics.


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