Senior tackle Levi Brown also earned first team All-America nods, from Athlon and Lindy's.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., June 27, 2006 - All-America linebacker Paul Posluszny (Aliquippa) has been selected the pre-season National and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and is ranked No. 5 on the Watch List for the Heisman Trophy by Lindy's Football.

Winner of the 2005 Butkus and Bednarik awards and a consensus All-American, Posluszny is the only defensive player listed on Lindy's Heisman Trophy Top 10 Watch List.

Posluszny leads several Nittany Lions that have received pre-season All-America and All-Big Ten recognition from several college football preview publications. The 2005 first team Academic All-American also was named a first team All-American by Street & Smith's/Walter Camp Football Foundation and Athlon Sports. A senior with a 3.57 grade point average in finance, Posluszny previously was named by The Sporting News as the No. 1 outside linebacker in the nation, a first-team preseason All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Also earning first team All-America recognition was senior tackle Levi Brown (Norfolk, Va.), who gained the nod from Athlon and Lindy's. Brown earned second team honors from Street & Smith's/Walter Camp Football Foundation and was a first team All-Big Ten selection by all three preview publications. A 2005 second team All-American, Brown has started 34 of the last 35 games and previously was named by The Sporting News as a second-team preseason All-American and the No. 3 offensive tackle in the nation.

Senior defensive tackle Jay Alford (Orange, N.J.) was selected a second team All-American by Lindy's and first team All-Big Ten by all three publications. The leading returnee among the conference's 2005 sack leaders, Alford previously was named a second-team preseason All-American and the No. 4 ranked defensive tackle in the nation by The Sporting News.

Also earning pre-season first team All-Big Ten honors from Athlon were junior linebacker Dan Connor (Wallingford, Pa.) and sophomore cornerback Justin King (Pittsburgh), giving Penn State four members of the first team defense. Connor also earned first team all-conference recognition from Lindy's, while King was a second team all-conference choice.

Sophomore wide receivers Deon Butler (Woodbridge, Va.) and Derrick Williams (Greenbelt, Md.) also were recognized. Butler was a second team All-Big Ten selection by Athlon and Williams was a second team all-conference pick by Lindy's.

Entering his 41st season as head coach, Joe Paterno's squad returns 34 letterwinners and 11 starters from last year's 11-1 team that captured the Big Ten and FedEx Orange Bowl titles. Penn State opens its 120th season on September 2, as the Nittany Lions host Akron, the 2005 Mid-American Conference champion, at 3:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium.