Three Nittany Lions earn Walter Camp All-American nods
Penn State’s All-American list expanded by three Thursday evening. Announced by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, the Nittany Lions placed left tackle Olu Fashanu and cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. and Kalen King as Second-Team All-Americans.
The honors come in the wake of a 10-2 bounce back season for the Nittany Lions. Having slogged through a 4-5 campaign during the COVID-amended 2020 campaign, then a 7-6 record in 2021, the James Franklin-led program secured its fourth double-digit win season under his direction.
And Fashanu, Porter Jr., and King were central parts of that formula.
Nittany Lions offensive line improvement
At the forefront of that change offensively, Fashanu locked down the left side of an offensive line previously beleaguered by inconsistency. A seemingly yearly question for the Nittany Lions up front, Fashanu’s ascent to the starting left tackle job brought marked improvement with him.
“His process and his habits are really good,” Franklin said in September. “It’s not a surprise to any of us… the level that he is playing at right now. Been super impressed with him.”
That would remain true as Fashanu started eight consecutive games at the position. In the process, before an injury in the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game on Oct. 29 would force him out for the rest of the regular season, he was credited with allowing just seven quarterback pressures on 299 snaps taken.
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Now, his status is being closely monitored as the Nittany Lions gear up for the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2 against Utah.
“We’ll see how this whole thing plays out,” Franklin said. “Medical will play the biggest factor in all these things. But we’ll see how it plays out.”
Cornerstones of Penn State’s defense
At cornerback, meanwhile, both Porter Jr. and King shined throughout the 2022 season.
Helping to lead a group that finished the regular season as the nation’s No. 2-ranked defense for opponent passer efficiency, Porter finished as a first-team All-Big Ten selection with 11 passes broken up. King, meanwhile, stuffed the stat sheet. His two interceptions were second only to Ji’Ayir Brown, while he finished with a team-high 18 passes broken up.
The widely respected honor brings Penn State’s program total to 184 All-Americans as recognized by the NCAA.
