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When Bill O'Brien was coaching the Penn State football team a few years ago, a young defensive end named Carl Nassib approached him to discuss his NFL aspi- rations. O'Brien could hardly believe it. Nassib hadn't been a starter in high school and hadn't received a scholarship from the Nittany Lions. He had begun his career as a walk-on, and while the coach- es were impressed with his diligence in the weight room, he hadn't seen action in any capacity during O'Brien's first season on the sideline. And yet somehow this kid had gotten it in his head that he was on track for a pro career. "He said to me, 'Football is really im- portant to me. I'm going to play pro football,' " O'Brien recalled during a re- cent appearance on Houston's FOX 26. "I said to him, 'Are you kidding me? You need to be concerned about playing at Penn State. Forget about pro football.' "He proved me wrong. He worked his butt off in the weight room, got stronger and got better and got bigger." He certainly did. And now the lanky senior defensive end is reap- ing the benefits of all that iron he's been pumping. After leading the country in sacks with 15.5, he's es- tablished himself as a draft-worthy prospect, coming in ninth among defensive ends in the position rankings recently compiled by ana- lyst Mel Kiper Jr. And when he does finally receive that first NFL paycheck, one of the things he'll want to buy is a nice big tro- phy case, because he's got a lot of items to display now that college football's awards season has wrapped up. Earlier this month, Nassib won the 46th Rotary Lombardi Award, which goes to the nation's top lineman (offense or defense) or linebacker. Selected over Ohio State's Joey Bosa, Texas A&M's Myles Garrett and Clemson's Shaq Law- son, Nassib is the second Nittany Lion to win the award, joining 1978 honoree Bruce Clark. The same day he was named winner of the Lombardi Award, Nassib also won the 14th Ted Hendricks Award, which goes to the na- tion's top defensive end. The first Nit- tany Lion to win the Hendricks Award, Nassib received more than 50 percent of the votes from the committee, outpacing Michigan State's Shilique Calhoun and Clemson's Lawson, who finished in a tie for second, as well as Oregon's DeForest Buckner, Texas A&M's Garrett and Okla- homa State's Emmanuel Ogbah. In accepting the award, Nassib re- counted how O'Brien's defensive coor- dinator, John Butler, used to call him "Stork," a reference to the 6-foot-7 Hendricks, who played in eight Pro Bowls and won four Super Bowls during a 15-year NFL career. "At the time I didn't know what it meant, so I took it as an insult," Nassib said. "But after realizing who it repre- sented, I see it now as a huge compli- ment. To receive this award is an amaz- ing accomplishment and honor that I will always remember." Nassib was also named a first-team Walter Camp All-American, becoming the first Nittany Lion to be so honored since Devon Still in 2011. He previously Nassib lauded following breakthrough season A W A R D W A T C H F O O T B A L L 11 Lions receive Big Ten accolades In addition to Defensive Player of the Year Carl Nassib, the Nittany Lions placed a number of standout players on the Big Ten's All-Conference teams. On defense, junior tackle Austin Johnson was a second-team choice of the media and third-team choice of the coaches, while senior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel claimed a spot on both All-Conference third teams. Additionally, sophomore safety Mar- cus Allen, sophomore linebacker Jason Cabinda, sophomore cornerback Grant Haley and senior cornerback Trevor Williams were selected All-Big Ten honorable mention. Senior line- backer Ben Kline was named Penn State's sportsmanship honoree. On offense, freshman running back Saquon Barkley won second-team honors from the coaches and media, while sophomore receiver Chris God- win was a second-team choice of the media and a third-team choice of the coaches. Another sophomore wide- out, DaeSean Hamilton, received an honorable mention nod from the me- dia. BLOCK PARTY Nassib tries to knock down a pass vs. Michi- gan in his last home game at Penn State. Photo by Patrick Mansell

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