Penn State football: 3 Lions appear on award watch lists

As the NCAA early award watch lists get put together, Penn State football already has three favorites on the radar.

There’s still plenty of time left in the NCAA offseason for football, but the season will be here before you know it. Therefore, the organization is getting ready to put together the award watch lists, so everybody knows who to look out for when the season gets started. Fortunately for Penn State football, they have three names on the early watch lists so far.

More could appear over time, but so far so good for the Lions. Heading into the 2019 season, Penn State might not be the cream of the crop in the Big Ten when it comes to early rankings. Considering they had to deal with quite a few significant losses for this year, the uncertainty for the Lions’ 2019 season by the national media is somewhat warranted.

However, Penn State has been getting respect and credit where it is due. They might be viewed as an under nine win-team to many, but nobody can say anything bad about their select players, who will head into the new year on an award watch list. As of Monday, Penn State has three players who will be on the radar for some postseason honors early on.

KJ Hamler, WR

Last season, KJ Hamler appeared in his first season of game action after sitting out for his true freshman season in 2017. He appeared in 13 games and caught 42 passes for 754 yards and five touchdowns. While Hamler is an essential piece to the Nittany Lions offense, he was just as crucial on special teams as well. With 20 kick returns last season, Hamler managed to churn out 523 yards. He also returned 14 punts for 96 yards as well.

Micah Parsons, LB

You’re probably used to hearing Micah Parsons name plenty by now — but get used to hearing it even more throughout the 2019 NCAA season. After his true freshman season, Parsons has already established himself as a star, and his stock is only rising. Last season, Parsons led the Lions in tackles with 82 total, four of which were four losses. Not only is he on All-American and All-Big Ten watch lists, but Parsons is also on the Bednarik Award watch list as well.

Yetur Gross-Matos, DE

Speaking of the Bednarik award, Penn State defensive end, Yetur Gross-Matos will give his teammate some competition for the award. Gross-Matos wrapped up his Sophomore effort with some phenomenal production — especially considering the circumstances. Penn State had a nice set of pass rushers last season, so the snaps had to be shared at times. But that didn’t stop Gross-Matos from doing his thing. With 8.5 sacks and 20 tackles for losses, Gross-Matos is sure to be on the radar for awards and other honors in 2019 for sure if he keeps it up.