Chicago — Penn State All-America linebacker Paul Posluszny, the 2005 Butkus and Bednarik Award winner, has been selected the Big Ten Pre-season Defensive Player of the Year.
The announcement was made here Tuesday (Aug. 1) as activities began for the 35th Annual Big Ten Kickoff. All 11 head coaches and players from each school were in attendance for media interviews and Wednesday\’s luncheon. Head coach Joe Paterno, senior tackle and co-captain Levi Brown and senior co-captain Posluszny represented the Nittany Lions.
A consensus All-American in 2005, Posluszny is the Nittany Lions\’ first two-time captain since defensive linemen Mike Reid and Steve Smear were tri-captains in 1968 and \’69. They helped lead Penn State to consecutive 11-0 seasons. Last season, Posluszny was instrumental in helping the Lions earn an 11-1 mark, capturing the Big Ten and FedEx Orange Bowl titles.
An Aliquippa product, Posluszny won the 2005 Butkus Award as the nation\’s premier linebacker and the Chuck Bednarik Award, given the nation\’s top defensive player. He also was the only junior finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award.
Posluszny is the 12th linebacker to earn first team All-America honors at \”Linebacker U\” under Paterno, joining a group that includes: Dennis Onkotz, Jack Ham, Greg Buttle, Shane Conlan, Brandon Short and Arrington as first team All-Americans.
The former Hopewell High School standout is the seventh Nittany Lion to earn first team All-America and Academic All-America honors in the same season. Posluszny is one of the squad\’s top students with a 3.57 grade point average in finance through the spring semester. He has made the Dean\’s List in five of his initial six semesters and is on schedule to graduate in December in 3 Ï years.
Posluszny was instrumental in the Nittany Lions\’ 2005 Big Ten Championship season. He was fifth in the Big Ten with a team-high 116 tackles (64 solo). He made 11 tackles for losses (minus-38), three sacks and three pass break-ups.
The 2005 first team All-Big Ten selection is only the fourth Nittany Lion to record 100 or more hits in consecutive seasons. He has 256 career tackles, tied with Trey Bauer for eighth place, and needs 88 tackles to pass Greg Buttle to become school career leader.
During the 2005 season, Posluszny became the first Big Ten student-athlete selected Football Player of the Week (Offense, Defense or Special Teams) three consecutive weeks since the conference began the selections in 1987. He made 22 tackles in Penn State\’s comeback win at Northwestern, the most by a Nittany Lion since 1977.
Troy Smith, quarterback at Ohio State, was selected the Big Ten Pre-season Offensive Player of the Year.
In his 41st season as head coach, Paterno\’s Nittany Lions open the season September 2, hosting Akron at 3:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium. \”Penn State Football Eve presented by Sheetz\” will be held the evening of Sept. 1, with festivities starting at 6:00 p.m. outside Beaver Stadium. Parking and activities are free for \”Penn State Football Eve.\”
A limited number of tickets for the Akron and Temple (Nov. 11) games are on sale at http://www.GoPSUsports.com online, the official website of Penn State Athletics or by calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336 weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The remaining five home games are sold out.