After a stellar campaign last season, senior linebacker Nick Miller is shaping up to be one of the best players in the conference.
Credit: Chase SuttonFootball season is almost here, and the Quakers have a lot to be excited about.
Several Penn football players have earned preseason honors within the last couple of weeks. On Monday morning, junior running back Karekin Brooks was named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS National Player of the Year Watch List. Brooks is joined on the 36-man list by two other Ivy League players in Princeton quarterback John Lovett and reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year and Yale running back Zane Dudek.
Brooks led the team and was second in the Ivy League with 840 rushing yards last season, while scoring nine touchdowns in the process.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Nick Miller was named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List earlier this month. This award is given at the end of every season to the most outstanding defensive player in the FCS. Miller, the two-time All-Ivy selection, was also named a second team STATS FCS Preseason All-American.
The linebacker from New Market, Maryland has played in every game for the Quakers since his arrival to Penn in 2015. He was the anchor of the defense last year, racking up 104 tackles, three forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries.
Miller and Brooks are joined by 11 of their teammates on Phil Steele’s FCS Preview Magazine All-Ivy teams.
Miller is listed as the Ivy Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while Brooks, offensive lineman Tommy Dennis, linebacker Jay Cammon Jr., safety Sam Philippi, and kicker Jack Soslow round out the first-team honorees.
The second team features offensive lineman Greg Begnoche, defensive lineman Cooper Gardner, and linebacker Connor Jangro, while the third-teamers are offensive lineman Jeff Gibbs, wide receiver Christian Pearson, defensive back Conor O’Brien, and returner Isaiah Malcome.
These players and the rest of the team began practice on Saturday as as they prepare for the season-opener versus Bucknell on September 15 at Franklin Field.
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