The talent is overwhelming for a Penn State team that lost just one game in the regular season and will play Oregon in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship. These star-studded Nittany Lions haven’t gone unnoticed, and many were recognized during the unveiling of the Big Ten’s all-conference teams and individual honors on Tuesday.
Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter was named the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Tyler Warren was unsurprisingly named the Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year and also earned first-team honors.
Carter is the seventh Nittany Lion to win Defensive Player of the Year and the first since Carl Nassib in 2015. Warren joins Pat Freiermuth as the second Penn State player to take home Tight End of the Year honors.
Penn State safety Jaylen Reed, linebacker Kobe King and offensive lineman Vega Ioane were selected to the second-team by both the coaches and media. Cornerback A.J. Harris was named a consensus third-team selection. Sal Wormley, the team’s starting right guard, was named to the third team by the media. Long snapper Tyler Duzansky was voted to the third team by the conference media.
Honorable mentions: quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen (media), offensive linemen Wormley (coaches), Drew Shelton and Anthony Donkoh, linebacker Tony Rojas, defensive tackles Zane Durant and Dvon J-Thomas (media), wide receiver Harrison Wallace III (media), center Nick Dawkins (media), defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton (media), cornerback Jalen Kimber (media), safety Zakee Wheatley (media), place kicker Ryan Barker.
A total of 22 Nittany Lions were named to all-conference teams. Here’s a look at how the players named to the first, second and third teams performed over the regular season.
Abdul Carter
There was no drop off in Carter’s transition from linebacker to defensive in 2024. He tallied 10.5 sacks and led the Big Ten with 19.5 tackles for loss over the course of the regular season. Carter, who has also excelled in pass coverage, has three pass deflections and two forced fumbles on the year.
Tyler Warren
One of the nation’s most versatile offensive players, Warren finished the regular season leading Penn State with 1,167 scrimmage yards and also scored 10 total touchdowns. He’s led all Big Ten tight ends with 978 receiving yards, and is certainly the only one who has received, run, snap and throw the football in 2024.
Jaylen Reed
Reed had a case to earn first-team honors and win Defensive Back of the Year. But, nevertheless, he was a second-team selection after leading the Nittany Lions with 75 tackles, while also tallying five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, three interceptions, two pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Kobe King
King stepped up at a linebacker position with limited depth, also serving as the bearer of the in-helmet microphone, serving as the quarterback of the defense. King tallied 62 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks and a pass deflection across the regular season.
Vega Ioane
A muse of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s gimmicky system, Ioane was put in motion several times throughout the regular season. But that didn’t stop him from producing a highly successful year, allowing just 11 pressures and no sacks across 712 offensive snaps.
Sal Wormley
At the other guard spot, Wormely was about just as impressive as Ioane. Over 534 offensive snaps, Wormley allowed just 10 pressures without giving up a sack or quarterback hit.
A.J. Harris
After transferring from Georgia in the offseason, Harris burst onto the scene as Penn State’s lead cornerback. Over the regular season, Harris tallied 32 tackles, four pass deflections, three tackles for loss and an interception.
