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How many All-Big Ten and All-American players will Penn State have in 2025? Athlon's picks are in

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•05/28/25•

GregPickel

vega-ioane-penn-state-football-on3
Offensive lineman Vega Ioane. (Credit: Ryan Snyder | Blue White Illustrated)

The final days of May are here, which means college football publications are starting to hit newsstands, bookstores, and the Internet across the country. Athlon Sports, per the usual, is one of the first outlets to publish its annual preview. And, it contains a host of good news for Penn State.

The outlet predicts that the Nittany Lions will play in the College Football Playoff national championship game opposite Texas after winning the Big Ten in 2025. The publication also has numerous Nittany Lions on both its All-Big Ten and its three All-American teams. Here’s the breakdown:

All-Big Ten first team:

QB Drew Allar

RB Nick Singleton

OL Vega Ioane

DE Dani Dennis-Sutton

All-American first team

RB Nick Singleton

OL Vega Ioane

All-America second-team:

RB Kaytron Allen — All-purpose pick

DE Dani Dennis-Sutton

All-America third-team:

None.

If Penn State ultimately reaches the heights it is expected to in 2025, more players will be joining the group listed above when the postseason accolades come out.

Penn State set to learn first kick times in just a few days; how many will we get?

“If the Nittany Lions are going to break through under head coach James Franklin, the 2025 season is their best opportunity,” Steve Lassan writes for Athlon in putting the Lions at No. 2 nationally in his preseason top 25. Only the Longhorns are ahead of them. “A team that fell just short of a trip to the national title game is stocked with experience. And Penn State’s stoutest competitors in the Big Ten — Ohio State, Oregon and Michigan — are rebuilding in ‘25. 

“The Nittany Lions owned one of the nation’s top defenses last season, holding teams to 16.5 points per game. But this unit could be even better in ’25, as veteran play-caller Jim Knowles left the archrival Buckeyes to take over defensive coordinator duties in Happy Valley. An experienced roster held together through offseason roster retention paid off for Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State in ’24 to win national titles. The Nittany Lions could be the next team to fit that mold.”

As Penn State gets ready to kick off summer workouts, it will continue to have praise heaped on it locally and nationally. This is arguably Franklin’s best and most complete roster. He is both expected to win with it and expects to have a veteran core of returners take his program to new heights. Athlon’s projections are just the latest example of that.

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