It was an up and down season that included low points such as the blowout road loss in Columbus and high points like upset victories over ranked opponents in Michigan and Wisconsin. In the end, the Nittany Lions finished 7-5 and posted another winning record under Bill O'Brien's leadership in the sanction era. Let's take a look back at the season and hand out five awards to some of the more outstanding players on the team in 2013.
Few Penn State football players, past and present, have received more media coverage than now-former offensive guard John Urschel. It's for good reason. The letterman also happens to be a math whiz and earned a perfect 4.0 GPA at Penn State while pursuing a mathematics degree and two master's degrees.
Since his first game in blue and white uniform, Christian Hackenberg has continued to improve and convince Penn State fans that the future is very bright for the football program. His record-breaking season came to a close Saturday against Wisconsin, but the accolades for the freshman quarterback are still rolling in. On Tuesday, Hackenberg was named the Thompson-Randel El Big Ten Freshmen of the Year for his stellar performance.
Penn State has confirmed that Charlie Fisher and Ron Vanderlinden have resigned from their coaching position to pursue other opportunities.
The Big Ten conference awards were announced on Monday evening. Coaches and media recognized the superb play of the Nittany Lions by naming 12 players to the All-Big Ten conference teams.
After watching Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg lead the Nittany Lions to an impressive 31-24 victory over the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers, the Big Ten Conference honored him with his fifth Big Ten Freshman of the Week award. He is the first player since 2010, when Nathan Scheelhaase of Illinois won six times, to win the award five times in a season.