University Park, Pa. — The Penn State football team produced another outstanding academic performance during the Fall 2010 semester, with 40 squad members earning at least a 3.0 grade point average.
Among the 40 Nittany Lions, 16 earned Dean’s List recognition by posting a 3.5 GPA or higher this past semester.
The superlative academic performance brings the number of returning Nittany Lion football student-athletes to 43 who have a cumulative 3.0 GPA through the fall, just off the record total of 46 from the 2004 and 2008 fall semesters.
Three Nittany Lions earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester: freshman defensive end Brad Bars (Nashville), redshirt freshman guard John Urschel (Williamsville, N.Y.) and senior wide receiver Graham Zug (Manheim). Urschel will bring a 4.0 cumulative GPA into his fourth semester as a Penn State student-athlete. Bars led 14 true freshmen that earned a 3.0 GPA or higher last fall.
Penn State again led the nation with three first-team Academic All-Americans® last fall: senior linebacker Chris Colasanti (Leonard, Mich.), sophomore defensive end Pete Massaro (Newtown Square) and senior guard Stefen Wisniewski (Bridgeville). Wisniewski became the first Penn State football student-athlete to earn Academic All-America® three times. Massaro and Wisniewski earned Dean’s List honors last Fall.
The rest of the Dean’s List football student-athletes last fall were: Kyle Baublitz (York), Miles Dieffenbach (Pittsburgh), Mike Farrell (Pittsburgh), Luke Graham (Harrison City), Ty Howle (Wake Forest, N.C.), Kyle Johnson (Landenberg), Ryan Keiser (Selinsgrove), Evan Lewis (Gettysburg), Shelton McCullough (Randallstown, Md.), Shane McGregor (Ebensburg), Ryan Scherer (Avon Lake, Ohio) and Nate Stupar (State College).
A finance student, Massaro will bring a 3.82 cumulative GPA into the spring semester and lead Penn State’s 2011 Academic All-America® candidates. Junior linebacker Nate Stupar (3.63 GPA) and Urschel also will be among the Nittany Lions’ Academic All-America® candidates.
The outstanding academic performance is the latest success in a long line of academic achievement for members of Joe Paterno’s program, who consistently are near the top nationally in academic success:
– Penn State football student-athletes that enrolled in the University from 2000-03 earned a Graduation Success Rate of 84 percent, in the top 10 percent among the nation’s 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions. Penn State’s 84 percent GSR was significantly higher than the 67 percent FBS average and was second to Northwestern among Big Ten Conference institutions, according to the NCAA;
– The Nittany Lions’ 15 Academic All-Americans® over the past five years (13 first team selections) leads the nation Penn State has had a least one first team ESPN Academic All-American® in each of the past seven seasons;
– Under Paterno, Penn State has had 47 Academic All-Americans®, with 37 earning first team honors The Nittany Lions’ all-time total of 49 Academic All-America® football players ranks third among all FBS institutions and leads all Big Ten institutions.
The Nittany Lions are 58-19 (75.3) since the start of the 2005 season, tied with Oregon for the nation’s No. 12 winning percentages over the past six years. Led by Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno, Penn State has won 60 of its last 79 games overall, dating to the final two contests of the 2004 season.
Penn State returns 16 starters for the 2011 season, (7 offense, 8 defense, 1 specialist), as well as 17 players that have starting experience. The Nittany Lions open their 125th campaign Sept. 3 vs. Indiana State in Beaver Stadium and Alabama visits Happy Valley on Sept. 10 for the first time since 1989.