Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter continues to pad his resume this season. On Tuesday, Carter was named the Associated Press Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Carter was named the Big Ten’s Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year last week by the Big Ten, so receiving the AP’s top defensive player awards for the conference is certainly not a shock.
Carter has thrived this season at his new position after moving from linebacker. Carter led the Big Ten with 20 tackles for loss and he set a career-high with 10 sacks this season. He also forced a couple of fumbles and set a career-high with 60 total tackles. He is now being viewed as a potential first-round draft pick, should he choose to head to the NFL after this college football postseason.
Carter and the Nittany Lions are now preparing for the College Football Playoff. Penn State will host SMU in the first round of the playoff on Saturday, Dec. 21 at noon Eastern. The winner of the game will advance to the quarterfinal round to face Mountain West Conference champion Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
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