Penn State’s Tyler Warren, Nick Dawkins and Abdul Carter all received national recognition Thursday night.
Warren was named the winner of the John Mackey Award, presented to the nation’s top tight end.
Dawkins, the Lions’ center, was chosen as the winner of the Wuerffel Award, college football’s premier award for community service.
Penn State senior center Nick Dawkins receives the Wuerffel Trophy for community service.
Carter, Penn State’s outstanding defensive end, was elected to the Walter Camp All-America first team by the nation’s head football coaches and sports information directors. Warren was selected to the second team in a bit of surprise. Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr. was named to the first team.
Warren became the first Nittany Lion to receive the Mackey Award, which was established in 2000 and given to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, academics and community values of the late Pro Football Hall of Famer.
He leads Penn State with 88 catches for 1,062 yards and six touchdowns. He also has rushed 23 times for 191 yards and four TDs and has passed for 35 yards and one score.
Dawkins is a Parkland High School graduate, a first-year starter and the first Penn State player to win the Wuerffel Award.
Dawkins, his mother, Janice, and his two sisters started the Dawkins Family Foundation with the goal of empowering communities through their youth. They stage charitable events throughout the year.
He graduated from Penn State last December with a degree in recreation, park and tourism management. He would like to play in the NFL and own and operate community centers in underserved areas so that he can affect young people and the homeless.
A former high school standout at La Salle in Philadelphia, Carter has 60 tackles, including 19.5 in the backfield and 10 sacks. He ranks among the national and Big Ten leaders in both categories.
