July 16, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach James Franklin and seniors Trace McSorley (Ashburn, Va.), Amani Oruwariye (Tampa, Fla.) and Nick Scott (Fairfax, Va.) will represent Penn State at the 47th Annual Big Ten Kickoff in Chicago July 23-24. Penn State will participate in events Monday, July 23.
The 47th annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon begins at 10 a.m. (CT) July 24 with an autograph session with the head coaches and College Football Hall of Fame inductees Dana Howard of Illinois and Aaron Taylor of Nebraska. 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 Dave Revsine of BTN, who will sit down with the coaches in small groups to discuss the upcoming season and also interview Howard and Taylor. The luncheon will feature speeches by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and Tournament of Roses president Gerald Freeny, while Michigan State's Khari Willis will speak on behalf of the students in attendance. The event will also feature highlight videos, additional student interviews by Lisa Byingtonof BTN and much more, including door prizes highlighted by a free trip to the 2018 Big Ten Football Championship Game and to the 2019 Rose Bowl Game.
The Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon is now sold out. The event 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 55,000 supporters. For more information, go to www.bigten.org/KOL.
Franklin has guided the Nittany Lions to back-to-back 11-win seasons and New Year's Six bowl games. The appearances in the 2017 Rose Bowl and 2017 Fiesta Bowl marked Penn State's first back-to-back appearances in a New Year's Six bowl since 1985 and 1986. The Nittany Lions finished the 2017 campaign ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls with an 11-2 record. Penn State led FBS in scoring differential with a +24.6 margin, finished seventh with a 41.1 scoring average, which ranks No. 3 in program history, and 19th in total offense with a 460.3 average. Defensively, the Nittany Lions were seventh in FBS in scoring average (16.5) and sacks (3.23). Under Franklin's guidance, Penn State had 18 players garner All-Big Ten accolades in 2017, led by Saquon Barkley, who was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Running Back of the Year and Return Specialist of the Year. Barkley also won the 2017 Paul Hornung Award for the nation's most versatile player and was a consensus All-American. Franklin saw 14 student-athletes from the 2017 squad selected in the 2018 NFL Draft or sign free agent contracts with NFL teams.
McSorley, who is a two-time captain, enters his final season in the Blue & White having thrown a touchdown pass in 28-straight games, the longest active streak in FBS. He holds the Penn State career records for completion percentage (61.8), passing efficiency (152.9), passing touchdowns (59) and total offense (8,268). He also owns the Penn State season marks for passing yards (3,614; 2016), completions (284; 2017), passing touchdowns (29; 2016), total offense (4,061; 2017), 300-yard passing games (5; 2016 and 2017), 200-yard passing games (11; 2016 and 2017) and touchdowns responsible for (37; 2017). In 2017, McSorley became just the second player in Big Ten history to have 25 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing scores in the same season, joining Ohio State's J.T. Barrett (2014 and 2017). He is also one of seven players in Big Ten history to record back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons. Last season, McSorley earned his second consecutive berth on the All-Big Ten second team as selected by the coaches and media. McSorley was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and Manning Award in 2017.
Oruwariye collected second-team All-Big Ten accolades last season, becoming the first Nittany Lion cornerback to earn first- or second-team All-Big Ten honors since Lydell Sargeant (second team) in 2008. Oruwariye also garnered first-team All-ECAC laurels. He led the team and finished 29th in FBS with four interceptions. He also finished tied for 10th in the Big Ten in passes defended per game (1.1). Oruwariye had six passes defended (5 PBU, 1 INT) at Michigan State, which was tied for the most in a game in FBS in 2017. He totaled 28 tackles on the season, including 19 solo stops.
Scott, who is a two-time captain, had 33 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, in 2017. He scooped up a fumble against Indiana, which was forced by Irvin Charles on Hooiser punt return, and took it 13 yards for his second career touchdown. He previously had a rushing touchdown against Army in 2015. A leader on special teams, Scott finished third on the team with nine tackles on special teams with eight coming on kickoffs and one on punt coverage in 2017.
The Nittany Lions' home schedule features five Big Ten Conference games, including visits from 2017 Big Ten Championship Game participants Ohio State and Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions open the season against Appalachian State (Sept. 1; 3:30 p.m.) and Kent State (Sept. 15; noon) in non-conference action. In Big Ten play, Penn State welcomes Ohio State (Sept. 29), Michigan State (Oct. 13; 3:30/4 p.m.), Iowa (Oct. 27), Wisconsin (Nov. 10) and Maryland (Nov. 24) to Happy Valley.
More than 6,300 new season tickets have been sold for the 2018 season presented by PSECU. The public single game sale takes place beginning June 26. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.NittanyLionClub.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.