Abdul Carter named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, a good sign for national awards

It’s been a busy end to the season for Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter. Aside from preparing how to deal with Dillon Gabriel and No. 1 Oregon, Carter has been named a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Chuck Bedarnik Award as the best defensive player in college football. Then, on Tuesday, Carter was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, which could be a sign that he’s the favorite to take home the national awards. 

Carter, who has racked up 10 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss this season, closed out the year with a dominant performance against Maryland in Week 14. He’s been awarded as the best defensive player in the conference, but he’s not the only Big Ten finalist for the national awards. Carter is competing for the Nagurski Trophy with South Carolina’s Kyle Kennard, Texas’s Jahdae Barron, and Michigan’s Mason Graham and for the Bednarik with Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Ohio State’s Caleb Downs. Carter is the only player who is in the running for both awards, and Tuesday’s news makes it very likely that he will beat out his in-conference competition. 

Carter is the first Nittany Lions to be named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year since Carl Nassib in 2015, and he’s seeking to become the first since Dan Connor in 2007 to win the Bednarik. The Bednarik went to Penn State players in three consecutive seasons with Paul Posluszny winning in 2005 and 2006 before Connor the next year. Prior to that stretch, Lavar Arrington was the last winner back in 1999. 

While being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year certainly increases the likelihood that Carter will win the national awards, it’s not a certainty. In fact, in all three seasons that Posluszny and Connor won the Bednarik, they were not named DPOY by the conference. 

Penn State All-Big Ten honors

Along with being named the DPOY, Carter was also named first-team All-Big Ten. He was one of six Nittany Lions named to one of the three all-conference teams. 

• Abdul Carter, 1st-team All-Big Ten defensive lineman
• Tyler Waren, 1st-team All-Big Ten tight end (
• Olaivavega Ioane, 2nd-team All-Big Ten offensive guard
• Kobe King, 2nd-team All-Big Ten linebacker
• Jaylen Reed, 2nd-team All-Big Ten safety
• AJ Harris, 3rd-team All-Big Ten cornerback

Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, Sal Wormley, Drew Shelton, Anthony Donkoh, Tony Rojas, and Zane Durant were named honorable mentions. Warren was also named the Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year.