Penn State Football: Pair of Nittany Lions on preseason watch lists

Which two Penn State football players already find themselves on preseason watch lists?

As the start of the 2018 college football season is just over a month away, award watch lists will start to be released. Monday, two awards released their lists, and a pair of Penn State football players are included.

Quarterback Trace McSorley and defensive end Shareef Miller are both getting preseason recognition for the potential big numbers they could put up this year.

McSorley, in what will likely be the first of several, finds himself on the watch list for the Maxwell Award for the National Player of the Year. Miller has landed on the preseason list for the Bednarik Award, given to the National Defensive Player of the Year.

Entering his senior season as the leader of the Penn State offense, McSorley has been the Nittany Lions’ quarterback for back-to-back 11-win seasons, including a win in the 2016 Big Ten Championship and a victory in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

McSorley has the longest streak in FBS  with a touchdown pass in 28-straight games. He already holds several single-season and career school records, including 8,268 yards of total offense. Last year, he was just the second player ever in the Big Ten Conference to throw 25 touchdowns and have 10 rushing touchdowns.

A finalist for both the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Manning Award last season, McSorley has high expectations in his final season with the Nittany Lions. He’ll start the season as one of the early favorites for the prestigious Heisman Trophy.

With a loaded crop of wide receivers, McSorley is primed for another great season at Penn State.

On the defensive side of the ball, Miller will be a key for the Nittany Lions up front. He was a starter for defensive line coach Sean Spencer’s “Wild Dogs” last year and will be counted on as a leader this season.

Miller led the Nittany Lions last year with 11 tackles for loss, including five sacks. He earned third-team All-big Ten honors and was on the Bednarik Award watch list at the midway point last season.

The defensive end has shown a knack for getting into the backfield and disrupting plays and has a chance to be one of the top defensive linemen in both the Big Ten and the nation.

Next: Penn State Football 2018 Player Profile: QB Trace McSorley

Penn State leads the nation with seven all-time winners of the Maxwell Award and four all-time winners of the Bednarik Award.