The Big Ten Conference announced its 2026 football preseason honors on Tuesday ahead of the start of Big Ten Football Media Days in Chicago, and no Penn State players were named to the 12 spots.

The Big Ten announced its 2026 football preseason honors, a 12-member list selected by a media panel.

Check it out https://t.co/cQcoVZwM2X pic.twitter.com/s4TwHlhbmz

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 28, 2026

Seven schools made up the list, including three players from Indiana, two from Ohio State, two from Oregon, two from Rutgers, and one each from Iowa, Minnesota, and USC.

It’s worth noting that eight of the 12 honorees will be present at Big Ten Football Media Days. The Nittany Lions sent quarterback Rocco Becht, offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh, and linebacker Tony Rojas to represent the blue and white in Chicago.

While the trio undoubtedly anchors the program and are leaders in the locker room, it’s not surprising they weren’t named to the list. Becht played in the Big 12 last season and suffered from nagging injuries, while Rojas missed a majority of the season with a severe knee injury. Donkoh is still a young player who is developing.

For context, heading into 2025, Penn State boasted three players on the Big Ten’s 16-member list, including Dani Dennis-Sutton, Drew Allar, and Nick Singleton.

By the end of the season, the only player on Penn State’s 2025 roster to finish top five in a major stat was Kaytron Allen, who finished second place in rushing yards with 1,303. Dennis-Sutton finished at No. 6 in sacks with 8.5, but both he and Allen were drafted in the NFL Draft back in April, leaving Penn State’s roster without any elite production to be honored ahead of the 2026 campaign.

Certainly, there are individual players who boast the talent to be named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors list, but the media panel that selected the lineup didn’t have much reason to select any current Penn State players after a tumultuous 2025 season.

Preseason awards mean nothing, but it certainly adds motivation for Penn State to disprove the seemingly widespread doubt surrounding the program in Matt Campbell’s first year.