Nov. 13, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A quartet of Penn Staters -- Gerald Cadogan, Sean Lee, Jordan Norwood and Mark Rubin -- have been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Football Team.
All four student-athletes will be eligible for consideration for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American® Team. Last year, Penn also had four Academic All-District honorees, with Paul Posluszny, Tim Shaw and Nolan McCready earning Academic All-American® accolades. Posluszny was selected the Academic All-American® of the Year for the University Division in voting by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Penn State led all District II schools with four selections and was the only Division I-A team in Pennsylvania with any honorees.
A junior tackle from Portsmouth, Ohio, Cadogan has earned his second Academic All-District nod. He has started all 11 games this season and has helped Penn State average 403.0 yards per game - 189.3 rushing and 213.7 passing. Cadogan has been instrumental in the Nittany Lions rushing for 200 yards or more five times this season, with 256 yards vs. Iowa and 251 yards vs. Purdue. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Cadogan is a double major in rehabilitation services and psychology.
A junior linebacker from Pittsburgh, Lee has started the last 24 games and is an All-America candidate on the nationally ranked Nittany Lion defense. He is tied for third in the Big Ten with 114 tackles and has 8.0 TFL and 3.5 sacks for minus-23 yards. He also has forced three fumbles, recovered three fumbles and has seven pass break-ups. Lee has recorded 10 or more tackles in eight of the last nine games, led by a career-high 17 at Illinois. A two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week selection this season, Lee is a finance major. He was a 2006 Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
A junior wide receiver, Norwood has been a key player in the passing game the past three seasons. This year, he has 40 receptions for 484 yards (12.1) and five touchdowns. He leads the Nittany Lions in receiving touchdowns and is second in receptions and yardage. The State College product grabbed a pair of touchdown passes in last week's 31-0 win at Temple and made a career-high eight receptions against Ohio State on Oct. 27. He has 116 career receptions, fifth-highest in school history. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Norwood is an advertising and public relations major.
A junior safety, Rubin has played in every game this season on defense and special teams, starting the last three contests. He has 21 tackles (13 solo), with one tackle for loss. The Amherst, N.Y. product made a career-high five tackles against Ohio State and had three solo stops vs. Buffalo and Purdue. A former wide receiver, Rubin is a finance major that earned Academic All-Big Ten accolades in 2006.
The Penn State football team has the second-highest Graduation Success Rate among teams ranked in the Nov. 11 USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll, according to data released in October by the NCAA. Among students entering Penn State in the fall of 1997 through 2000, Nittany Lion football student-athletes earned a GSR of 76 percent, easily above the national GSR average of 67 percent. Boston College (93) is the only team in the Top 25 with a higher GSR than Penn State.
For the second consecutive year, Coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions posted the second highest GSR among teams in the Big Ten Conference, trailing only Northwestern.
Last year, Posluszny became the fifth member of the Nittany Lion football program to earn first team Academic All-America® honors twice. He was joined on the first team by defensive end Tim Shaw, while safety Nolan McCready earned second team accolades.
Shaw was the 23rd Nittany Lion under Coach Joe Paterno to earn first team Academic All-America® honors, a total of 28 times. The Nittany Lions' total of 37 Academic All-America® football players ranks fourth among all Division I-A institutions. Thirty-five of the selections have been under Paterno.
Penn State has had a least one Academic All-American® in each of the past five seasons, with Posluszny also earning first team accolades in 2005.
The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® are selected by the 1,800 members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00.
The No. 22 Nittany Lions (8-3, 4-3) conclude the regular season Saturday at Michigan State (6-5, 2-5). Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET in the battle for the Land Grant Trophy. The game will air regionally on ABC, the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. Markets not receiving the game on their ABC affiliate will receive it on ESPN.