Penn State has produced 104 first team All-Americans, 45 of them consensus and 15 unanimous. The list runs heavily through the linebacker position, which is where the Linebacker U nickname comes from, and its most recent unanimous selection was defensive end Abdul Carter in 2024, the first since Saquon Barkley seven years earlier.
The Unanimous Selections
| Year | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Mike Reid | Defensive tackle |
| 1970 | Jack Ham | Linebacker |
| 1973 | John Cappelletti | Running back |
| 1978 | Bruce Clark | Defensive tackle |
| 1981 | Sean Farrell | Guard |
| 1986 | Shane Conlan | Linebacker |
| 1994 | Ki-Jana Carter | Running back |
| 1994 | Kerry Collins | Quarterback |
| 1999 | LaVar Arrington | Linebacker |
| 1999 | Courtney Brown | Defensive end |
| 2005 | Paul Posluszny | Linebacker |
| 2017 | Saquon Barkley | Running back |
| 2024 | Abdul Carter | Defensive end |
Gold rows mark seasons with two unanimous selections. Penn State counts 15 unanimous selections in total; the table lists those confirmed by the program’s records and does not include every early honouree.
Linebacker U
The nickname dates to the Paterno era and rests on a run of linebackers that no other program has matched: Dennis Onkotz, Jack Ham, Shane Conlan, LaVar Arrington, Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor, NaVorro Bowman, Sean Lee, Micah Parsons. Ham, Conlan and Arrington are all in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Ham is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Posluszny and Connor won the Butkus Award and Arrington won both the Butkus and the Bednarik in the same season, the only Penn State player to do so.
The 1994 Offence
The unbeaten 1994 team produced four first team All-Americans on offence: Ki-Jana Carter, Kerry Collins, Bobby Engram and Kyle Brady. Carter and Collins were both unanimous, and they finished second and fourth in the Heisman vote. No other Penn State team has had two unanimous selections on the same side of the ball. Our national championships page covers why that team didn’t win the title.
1999: Arrington and Brown
LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown were unanimous All-Americans in the same season and went first and second overall in the 2000 NFL draft, Brown to Cleveland and Arrington to Washington. It is the only time the program has had two unanimous selections on defence in one year, and the only time it has produced the top two picks in a draft. Our NFL draft page covers that.
Abdul Carter, 2024
Carter moved from linebacker to defensive end for his junior season, led the country with 23.5 tackles for loss, added 12 sacks, and was named first team by all five NCAA recognised selectors. He was the program’s 45th consensus All-American and 15th unanimous, its first since Barkley in 2017, and went third overall to the New York Giants. Tyler Warren, who won the Mackey Award the same season, was a first team All-American by two selectors and second team by the others.
The Award Winners
Penn State’s honours cluster on defence and the line. Mike Reid won the Outland and Maxwell in 1969, Bruce Clark the Lombardi in 1978, Arrington the Butkus and Bednarik in 1999, Posluszny the Bednarik in 2005 and 2006, and Warren the Mackey in 2024, the program’s first. John Cappelletti’s 1973 Heisman is the only one. Our Heisman page covers that.
The Bottom Line
Penn State has 104 first team All-Americans, 45 consensus and 15 unanimous, and the unanimous list runs from Mike Reid and Jack Ham through Abdul Carter. The 1994 offence and the 1999 defence each produced two unanimous selections in a single season. The Linebacker U tradition is the program’s identity, and Carter in 2024 was its most recent unanimous selection.