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Phil Steele Selects 10 Nittany Lions For Preseason All-Big Ten Teams

Phil Steele, who’s become the Mel Kiper of preseason college football predictions, unveiled his All-Big Ten Teams today, with 10 Nittany Lions making the cut.

While no Penn Staters made Steele’s first team, they represented the third-most of the 14 Big Ten schools, trailing only Michigan State’s 13 and Ohio State’s 12. The picks:

Second Team

Safety Adrian Amos, senior; linebacker Mike Hull, senior; cornerback Jordan Lucas, junior; tackle Donovan Smith, junior.

Third Team

Quarterback Christian Hackenberg, sophomore; defensive end C.J. Olaniyan, senior; kicker Sam Ficken, senior.

Fourth Team

Defensive end Deion Barnes, junior; tight end Jesse James, junior; running back Zach Zwinak, senior.

It’s a bit surprising to see Ficken make the cut, as he only nailed 65.2 percent of his kicks in 2013 for eighth place in the Big Ten, though he’s certainly recovered from the Virginia debacle. It might not sit too well that Hackenberg only got a Third Team nod, but Michigan State’s Connor Cook and Ohio State’s Braxton Miller are worthy competition.

Check out all of Steele’s picks here, and comment away below with thoughts.

By the way, only 82 days remain.

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About the Author

Tim Gilbert

Former managing editor and staff writer.

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