July 11, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach James Franklin and seniors Marcus Allen (Upper Marlboro, Md.), Jason Cabinda (Huntington, N.J.) and Mike Gesicki (Manahawkin, N.J.) will comprise the Penn State contingent for the 46th Annual Big Ten Kickoff in Chicago on July 24-25. Penn State will participate in events on Tuesday, July 25.
The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon annually attracts some of the most talented names in college sports. The event has drawn legendary coaches as well as each of the conference's Heisman Trophy winners since 1970. In all, approximately 1,000 of the conference's finest players and 80 head coaches have celebrated the start of a new college football season at the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon with nearly 54,000 supporters.
The 46th annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon begins at 11 a.m. ET July 25 with an autograph session with the head coaches and College Football Hall of Fame inductees Tom Cousineau of Ohio State and Tim Krumrie of Wisconsin, while select students will participate in brief, live interviews, conducted by FOX Sports' Jenny Taft. Around 10:50 a.m. CT, fans can get group pictures of the Hall of Famers, all 14 coaches and all 42 students in attendance.
The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be hosted by Joel Klatt of FOX Sports, who will sit down with the coaches in small groups to discuss the upcoming season and also interview Cousineau and Krumrie. The luncheon will feature speeches by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Tournament of Roses president Lance Tibbet, while Purdue's David Blough will speak on behalf of the students in attendance. The event will also feature highlight videos, additional student interviews by Taft and much more, including door prizes highlighted by a free trip to the Big Ten Football Championship Game and to the Big Ten's top bowl game destination.
Individual tickets or full tables to the luncheon are on sale at bigten.org. Tickets are priced at $110 each, with a table seating 10 for $1,100. All fans, regardless of age, must have a ticket for entry to both the autograph session and the luncheon. Click here to submit your order for Kickoff Luncheon tickets. More information on the Kickoff Luncheon can be found here.
Franklin was named the 2016 Sporting News National Coach of the Year. He is the second Penn State head coach to win the honor, joining Joe Paterno, who claimed the award in 2005. Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to their first Big Ten Championship since 2008 and fourth overall (1994, 2005, 2008). He led the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten East title, its second divisional title (2011). Franklin led the Lions to a No. 5 ranking in the CFP and a No. 7 rank in the Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls, the highest ranking for the Nittany Lions since 2009. With an 11-3 record, Franklin guided the Nittany Lions to their sixth 11-win season since Penn State joined the Big Ten. Penn State finished 8-1 in Big Ten play, marking the second eight-win conference season in program history to join the 1994 team that went 8-0.
Allen, who is also on the 2017 Bednarik Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy watch lists, was selected third-team All-Big Ten by the conference's coaches and honorable mention by the media panel last season. He made a team- and career-high 110 tackles on the season to become the first Penn State safety to lead the team in tackles since Shawn Mayer (144) in 2002. He was honored as the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week and Rose Bowl Player of the Week for his 22-tackle effort versus Minnesota Oct. 1. He also claimed Oct. 24 Co-Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week accolades after blocking a field goal attempt versus No. 2 Ohio State, which led to the game-winning touchdown by teammate Grant Haley. Allen finished the season ranked 16th in the Big Ten with 7.9 tackles per game and was third in the conference with two fumble recoveries. For his career, Allen has 249 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and eight pass breakups.
Cabinda also earned a spot on the 2017 Bednarik Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy watch lists. A 2017 team captain, Cabinda garnered third-team All-Big Ten accolades from the conference coaches, despite missing five games due to injury. He posted eight tackles or more in all nine games he played in last season and has logged eight or more tackles in 11 of his last 13 games, dating back to 2015. Cabinda finished third on the squad with 81 tackles in 2016, after posting 100 stops in his sophomore season. He had 13 tackles in the upset win over No. 2 Ohio State, including the game-clinching takedown of Buckeye quarterback J.T. Barrett on 4th-and-23 on OSU's final drive. For his career, Cabinda has 198 tackles, eight pass breakups, 3.5 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss.
Gesicki, who is a preseason All-American according to Athlon, Street & Smith, Lindy's and Sporting News, had a breakout campaign in 2016, breaking the Penn State single-season record for receptions and yardage by a tight end. His 48 catches broke the record held by Andrew Quarless (41; 2009) and his 679 receiving yards best Mickey Shuler's previous mark of 600 receiving yards (1977). Gesicki also tied the Penn State season record for touchdown catches for a tight end (5) in 2016. He led the Big Ten and was tied for seventh nationally in receptions and receiving yards by a tight end. For his efforts, Gesicki was named second-team All-Big Ten by the media and All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches. Gesicki has four or more catches in seven of his last 12 games.
The Nittany Lions' home schedule features a trio of non-conference games, including Pitt's first visit to Beaver Stadium since 1999. The Nittany Lions open the season against Akron (Sept. 2; noon) and face Pitt (Sept. 9; 3:30 p.m.) and Georgia State (Sept. 16) to close out a three-game homestand to start the year. In Big Ten play, Penn State welcomes Indiana (Sept. 30), Michigan (Oct. 21), Rutgers (Nov. 11; noon - Homecoming) and Nebraska (Nov. 18) to Happy Valley. Nearly 8,700 new season tickets have been sold for the 2017 campaign. The public single-game ticket sale opens Tuesday, July 11. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2017 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 9 a.m-4:30 p.m.