Trio of Nittany Lions among preseason All-America honorees

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Athlon Sports’ annual preseason All-America selections were announced on Tuesday and with it came some pre-season hype for three Nittany Lions.

Running back Saquon Barkley was the lone Nittany Lion named to the first team, joining fellow first-team back in LSU’s Derrius Guice. The first-team quarterback honoree was Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and he was followed by USC’s Sam Darnold, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett.



The other Penn State offensive weapon on the preseason list was senior tight end Mike Gesicki, a second-team honoree. Gesicki caught 48 passes for 679 yards and five touchdowns last season, all of which were second on the team among the Lions’ pass catchers. Expect Gesicki to continue trending upward this season as the Lions will look to find ways to make up for the loss of receiver Chris Godwin, and therefore that could mean a few more targets headed Gesicki’s way.

Interestingly enough, it was Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli who secured the first-team nod and former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman who was the third-team preseason honoree. Breneman, once the nation’s top tight end in his recruiting class, committed to Penn State along with quarterback Christian Hackenberg. The former Cedar Cliff standout played under Bill O’Brien and then dealt with multiple injuries before announcing that he was graduating early from Penn State and stepping away from football in January of 2016.

After graduating and working on a state senate election campaign, Breneman’s ailing left knee felt better than it had before and he decided to return to football. Rather than returning to Penn State he re-routed his plans and enrolled at UMass, where his longtime friend and quarterback Andrew Ford had transferred to after attending Virginia Tech.

Last season Breneman caught 70 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns for the Minutemen. Now, the once injury-prone Nittany Lion and Pennsylvania fan favorite is looking more and more like an intriguing NFL-caliber tight end.

Safety Marcus Allen rounded out Penn State’s selections as he was a third-team honoree. Allen contemplated an early entry to the NFL last year but returns for his senior season where he will be looked to as a leader along the last line of defense. Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and Florida State’s Derwin James were first-team selections while Virginia’s Quin Blanding and Northwestern’s Godwin Igwebuike were second-team honorees.

Pitt’s Jordan Whitehead was a fourth-team selection and was joined on the preseason list by third-team all-purpose honoree Quadree Henderson, who also was named a first-team selection as a kick returner, and third-team offensive lineman Brian O’Neill. Pitt’s four selections were tied for fourth most on the list, behind Alabama (7), Washington (6), Clemson (5) and Ohio State (5). Oklahoma also placed four players on the list.