Penn State puts a pair on the Associated Press preseason All-American team
The preseason is nearly over. Penn State has had numerous players recognized ahead of the 2023 season. Some teams enter a true game week today ahead of a ‘Week 0’ opener this coming Saturday. Others, like the Nittany Lions, are starting classes Monday but are still a week away from entering their first seven-day stretch to kickoff.
Two more Nittany Lions have been included on a media preseason All-American team. The Associated Press released its list on Monday. Lions junior offensive tackle Olu Fashanu and third-year Penn State cornerback Kalen King both made the outlet’s first team. No members of head coach James Franklin’s program made the second team.
King and Fashanu have been almost endlessly recognized as two of the top players in college football in the buildup to a new slate of games. Fashanu is a team captain and will anchor the Lions offensive line as one of the sport’s best left tackles. He has had a lighter workload than normal during preseason camp. But, his reps are about to ramp up.
“I want to do everything we can to help him become a top 10 pick, which I think he is, in terms of not only a player but a franchise guy with how he goes about his business,” Franklin said last week.
“The guy wants to be great in everything he does. He wants more reps. He’s fighting us for more reps. So he’s going about it the right way. And he’s practicing his tail off. … I feel really good about the plan we have for him. And he’s one of these guys who’s wired so right that he wouldn’t take it the wrong way. He’ll still maximize the reps he’s getting.”
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King, then, will help lead a defense that is ready to take off again under second-year coordinator Manny Diaz. The junior is viewed as one of the top cornerbacks in the country.
“Man, I’m just competing every day. I’m coming in with the same mindset. I’m just competing in workouts, seven on sevens, meetings, all things of that nature,” King told BWI this summer. “And I’m just taking everything seriously. I’m trying to build. I’m trying to stay on a positive curve.
“I feel like I’m definitely at that level as one of the best in the country. And I feel like this year, I’m gonna try to prove that I’m the best in the country. So I’m doing everything I can right now to take that step.”
Lions sit on cusp of kicking off the 2023 season
Penn State is just 12 days away from its 2023 opener against West Virginia. The two sides meet at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The Lions will begin drilling down on the Mountaineers this week. A few “bonus” game week practices are likely before the team fully transition into game week mode this weekend. Franklin will speak with reporters Wednesday, Some players will, as well, to offer a final glimpse into the program’s preparations for the opener.
