July 18, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior running back Miles Sanders (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added his name to the list of Nittany Lions earning early-season recognition with a berth on the Doak Walker Award preseason list.
Penn State's lone Doak Walker Award winner was Larry Johnson in 2002. Ki-Jana Carter and Curtis Enis were finalists for the award in 1994 and 1997, respectively. The Doak Walker Award was created in 1989 to recognize the nation's premier running back for his accomplishments on the field, achievement in the classroom and citizenship in the community. It is the only major collegiate football award that requires all candidates to be on schedule to graduate within one year of other students of the same classification. The award is presented annually by the SMU Athletic Forum.
Sanders appeared in 12 games a season ago as the backup to Saquon Barkley. Sanders averaged 6.2 yards per carry and had two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 30 yards in 2017. Sanders has been a weapon on special teams the last two seasons, accounting for 20.1 yards per kickoff return. He broke the Penn State season record with 33 kickoff returns in 2016 and his 688 return yards that season rank second in program history.
Five different Nittany Lions have been named to preseason watch lists. They include: senior quarterback Trace McSorley â€" Maxwell Award (National Player of the Year), Davey O'Brien Award (nation's top quarterback); junior defensive end Shareef Miller â€" Bednarik Award (National Defensive Player of the Year); junior running back Miles Sanders â€" Doak Walker Award (nation's top running back); senior safety Nick Scott â€" Allstate AFCA Good Works Team; head coach James Franklin â€" Bobby Dodd Trophy (nation's top coach). As a rookie, Sanders was a BTN.com All-Freshman Team honorable mention choice and was seventh in the Big Ten in kickoff return average (20.8 ypr).
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.