STATE COLLEGE — At the start of the 2013 season, even Penn State fans didn’t seem to know anything about Carl Nassib.
Now, the entire college football world knows all about what the 6-foot-7 defensive end can do on the gridiron.
Wednesday, the Ted Hendricks Foundation named Nassib the winner of the 2015 Hendricks Award, presented annually to the nation’s best defensive end. He beat out five finalists — Oregon’s DeForest Buckner, Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun, Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, Clemson’s Shaq Lawson and Oklahoma State’s Emmanuel Ogbah.
Nassib received more than 50 percent of the votes. The award is named after former Oakland Raiders star defensive end Ted “The Mad Stork” Hendricks, himself a 6-foot-7 pass rusher who is the first player to earn first-team All-American honors three times during his career at the University of Miami.
Nassib is the first Penn State player to win the award.
Despite missing most of the final two games with an injury, Nassib led the NCAA with 15½ sacks — more than 12 teams — and with six forced fumbles. He finished second in tackles for loss, with 19½, a category he led until playing sparingly against Michigan and Michigan State.
“Three years ago, (then-defensive coordinator) John Butler called me ‘The Stork,’ and at the time, I didn’t know what it meant, so I took it as an insult,” Nassib said in a statement released by Penn State’s strategic communications office. “But after realizing who it represented, I see it now as a huge compliment. To receive this award is an amazing accomplishment and honor that I will always remember.”
Nassib’s story has swept the nation during his senior season.
Before the opening game against Temple, Nassib had never started a game, and not just at the collegiate level. He served as a backup end for four years at Malvern Prep near Philadelphia, and the only offer he received to play college football at any level came from linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden, who offered him a chance to be a preferred walk-on for Joe Paterno’s 2011 team.
A dedicated student who studies biology, Nassib added nearly 70 pounds to his frame thanks to a workout tenacity teammates rave about. His ascent to the nation’s top defensive end is one that surprised even those who knew him best as a player.
“I can remember one story where he came in and I basically questioned — this is how smart I am — how important football was to him,” former Penn State coach and current Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien told Houston-area television station FOX 26 on Wednesday. “He said to me, ‘Football is really important to me. I’m going to play pro football.’ And I said to him, ‘Are you kidding me? You’re going to play pro football? You need to be concerned about playing at Penn State. Forget about pro football.’
“He proved me wrong. He worked his butt off in the weight room, got stronger and got better and got bigger.”
Nassib was also nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy and Nagurski Award. The Burlsworth, which is presented to the nation’s best player who started his career as a walk-on — West Scranton’s Matt McGloin won it in 2012 — went to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich won the Nagurski, given to the nation’s top defensive player.
Nassib is also up for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which will be presented tonight to the nation’s top defensive player.
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