Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1488968
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M By The Numbers 4 Penn State football players since 1995 who have been honored as the Big Ten's top freshman. Run- ning back NICHOLAS SINGLETON is the latest, winning the Thompson-Ran- dle El Freshman of the Year award in No- vember after rushing for 941 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first regular season. Ranked fifth in the league in total rush- ing yards heading into postseason play, Singleton joins quarterback Christian Hackenberg (2013), defensive end Deion Barnes (2012) and running back Curtis Enis (1995) on the list of PSU players who have claimed the league's top-freshman honor. 6.3 Nicholas Singleton's per- carry rushing average through 12 games. Among the Big Ten's top 25 rushers in total yards gained, Singleton had the third-best average in the regular season, trailing only Michigan's Donovan Edwards (7.5) and Ohio State's Miyan Williams (6.5). 15 Scoring differential in the Penn State men's basketball team's 74-59 upset of No. 17 Illinois on Dec. 10 in Champaign. It was the biggest winning margin in the Nittany Lions' 31-year Big Ten history over a ranked opponent on the road. The previous record was an eight-point win at 17th-ranked Purdue in 1999. 26 Number of Penn State defensive players who have registered at least one full tackle for loss this season, the most players on any team in the FBS. Freshman linebacker Abdul Carter led the way with a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss, even though he didn't join the starting lineup until Week 7 against Minnesota. As a team, Penn State had 95 tackles for loss through 12 games, ranking seventh in the FBS and third among Power Five teams, with only Clemson (second, 103) and Oklahoma (fifth, 99) amassing more. 50 Times in the past 56 years that Penn State has finished its foot- ball season with at least one player earn- ing All-America honors from an outlet recognized by the NCAA. The Nittany Lions had three All-Americans this year: sophomore offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, sophomore cornerback Kalen King and redshirt junior cornerback Joey Porter Jr. All received second-team honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation, raising Penn State's all-time total to 184 All-Americans. Seventeen players have earned All-America notice during the James Franklin coach- ing era, which began in 2014. 91.6 Chop Robinson's pass- rush grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest of any edge rusher in a Power Five conference during the regular season. PFF's grades assess whether a player is able to "win his block or affect the play beyond the base level of expectations on a given passing play." Robinson, a sophomore defensive end who transferred from Maryland ahead of the 2022 season, didn't start a single game for the Nittany Lions during the regular season but saw ample action be- hind redshirt senior Nick Tarburton. He was credited with 4 sacks and 3 quarter- back hurries going into the Rose Bowl. 94 Passes defended by Penn State players during the regular sea- son, the highest total in the FBS. The Nittany Lions had 82 breakups and 12 interceptions for an average of 7.83 passes defended per game. Middle Tennessee State (7.42) was second. The other Power Five teams in the top 10 were Illinois (fourth, 6.83), TCU (sixth, 5.85), Pitt (eighth, 6.25) and Clem- son (ninth, 5.62). Sophomore cornerback Kalen King has led the way for Penn State, ranking second in the FBS with 20 passes defended (18 break- ups and 2 interceptions). 109 Number of Penn State athletes who earned Academic All-Big Ten honors during the fall se- mester. It was PSU's fourth- highest total for the fall term, trailing the school's perfor- mance in 2021 (131 honorees), 2017 (117) and 2020 (114). Football had 32 Academic All- Conference honorees to lead the fall sports teams. Women's soccer had a pro- gram-record 23, followed by field hockey (16), men's soccer (12), women's cross country (11), men's cross country (nine) and women's volleyball (six). Four athletes finished with perfect 4.0 GPAs: redshirt senior Katherine As- man, redshirt freshman Amanda Poor- baugh and sophomore Julia Raich of the women's soccer team, and junior Gery Schnarrs of field hockey. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE