Penn State’s Abdul Carter, Tyler Warren and Nick Dawkins were named finalists Tuesday for national college football awards.
Carter is one of three finalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented to the nation’s defensive player of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. The other finalists are Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter.
The 6-3, 252-pound Carter, a junior defensive end from La Salle High School in Philadelphia, also is a finalist for the Lombardi Award, presented to the nation’s best offensive or defensive lineman, and for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented to the nation’s best defensive player.
He ranks third in the FBS with 17.5 tackles for loss and is 20th with eight sacks. He has 30 solo tackles, second among Big Ten defensive linemen and fourth among defensive linemen in the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC or SEC.
The 6-6, 261-pound Warren, a senior, has been selected as a finalist for the John Mackey Award, presented to the nation’s best tight end.
The other finalists are Michigan’s Colston Loveland and Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr.
Warren has 75 receptions for 910 yards and five touchdowns, four rushing TDs and a passing TD. He has lined up at several positions, including quarterback and center.
He is tied for the Big Ten season record for catches by a tight end with Wisconsin’s Travis Beckum, who had 75 in 2007. He needs 73 yards to break Beckum’s season record for receiving yards by a tight end, 982 in 2007.
Warren has 124 receptions for 1,516 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career. He owns the Penn State record for receiving yards by a tight end and needs six catches and one TD to hold the records in those categories.
The 6-4, 298-pound Dawkins, a senior center from Parkland High School, has been named a finalist for the Wuerffel Trophy, which is named after 1996 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel and is considered college football’s premier award for community service.
Dawkins, who’s in his first season as a starter, founded the Dawkins Family Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering communities through youth engagement.
The foundation has awarded three scholarships to high school seniors and collaborates with the Lehigh Valley YMCA and Big Brothers Big Sisters to provide book bags to children and teens in need.
He also is the president of Penn State’s chapter of Uplifting Athletes, which raises funds for rare disease research mostly through its Lift for Life workout competition each June.
