The first few weeks of the offseason have not been short on accomplishments for the Penn State football team with both players and coaches winning awards.

The theme continued yesterday as defensive tackle Jordan Hill garnered an invite to the 64th annual Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama on January 26th. In addition to the Senior Bowl invite, Hill also received a first-team All-Big Ten selection and during the season was named Big Ten Defensive Player of The Week twice in wins over Iowa and Wisconsin.

In a season where Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges represented the face of the defense, Hill quietly had another fantastic year. Hill’s play last year next to Devon Still (now with the Cincinnati Bengals) made Penn State one of the most feared defenses in the conference.

This season, Hill only improved on his play from 2011, by finishing fourth on the team with 65 tackles and second on the team in sacks with 4.5. He also had 8.5 tackles for loss, good enough for third on the team.

Hill’s last game as a Nittany Lion was arguably his greatest, as he powered the Penn State defense with 12 tackles, 2 sacks, and  3 tackles for loss in an emotional 24-21 overtime win against Wisconsin.

Hill is considered a top defensive draft prospect for the upcoming NFL draft, and will most likely fall anywhere between rounds 3 and 6. He will have a chance to improve his draft stock in several pre-draft events including the Senior Bowl.