Two Penn State Nittany Lion defenders have been named to the 2023 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List. Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter and defensive back Kalen King both are a part of the 42-man watch list that was released on Tuesday.
The award is named after NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and is annually awarded to a defensive player in the country that impacts their team both on and off the field.
Former Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib is the only Nittany Lion to win the award since its inception in 2004, doing so in 2015.
This year's winner will be announced on December 10, 2023.
Carter was a freshman All-American for Penn State last year while earning All-Big Ten honors. The Philadelphia native who wears the legendary No. 11 jersey, looked much like those who donned the jersey before him, names like Micah Parsons and LaVar Arrington. Carter was dominant from the get-go, recording 56 tackles including 10.5 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks. He'll return in 2023 as a sophomore and is expected not to just be one of the Nittany Lions' top players overall but one of the best defensive players in the country.
King, on the other hand, is expected to become CB1 for the Nittany Lions this fall, replacing Joey Porter Jr. After Porter Jr. fell to the second round of this year's NFL Draft, King will now look to become the first Nittany Lion defensive back to be drafted in the first round of an NFL Draft. King had 30 tackles last season, three interceptions, and 16 pass deflections.
FULL LIST OF NAMES ON THE LIST...
Maryland LB Jaishawn Barham
Virginia DE Chcio Benentt Jr
Kansa CB Cobee Bryant
USC DB Calen Bullock
Oregon DE Jordan Burch
BYU LB Ben Bywater
Penn State LB Abdul Carter
Clemson LB Barrett Carter
Duke DL DeWayne Carter
UCF DE Josh Celiscar
USC LB Mason Cobb
Michigan LB Junior Colson
Ohio State LB Tommy Eichenberg
Arizona LB Justin Flowe
Texas LB Jaylan Ford
Buffalo S Marcus Fuqua
North Carolina LB Cedric Gray
TCU LB Johnny Hodges
Missouri LB Ty'Ron Hopper
Colorado DB Travis Hunter
Tulane DL Patrick Jenkins
Michigan DB Will Johnson
Miami S Kamren Kitchens
Penn State CB Kalen King
UCLA DE Laiatu Latu
Arkansas DB Dwight McGlothern
Alabama DB Kool-Aid McKinstry
Alabama DB Malachi Moore
Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison
Illinois DT Jer'zhan Newton
TCU CB Josh Newton
Oklahoma State DE Collin Oliver
LSU LB Harold Perkins Jr
Utah LB Karene Reid
LSU DL Maason Smith
Georgia S Malaki Starks
Oklahoma LB Danny Stutsman
Washington DE Bralen Trice
Ohio State DE J.T. Tuimoloau
Florida State DE Jared Verse
Kentucky DL Deone Walker
Mississippi State LB Nathaniel Watson
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