Urschel, Carson added to watch lists

According to Penn State's official Twitter feed Monday, the names of two Nittany Lions have been added to another duo of prestigious award watch lists.

For the first time this preseason, senior linebacker Glenn Carson has been added to the Butkus Award Watch List as a candidate to earn the distinction of the top linebacker in the country, while offensive lineman John Urschel has been added to his Outland Trophy Watch List with a nod by the Rotary Lombardi Award on Monday.

Carson, a veteran of Penn State's linebacking corps in every sense of the word, returns for his final season after starting all but one game during the span of the past two years. He has 171 career tackles, including 85 from the 2012 season, which trailed only Gerald Hodges (109 tackles) and Michael Mauti (95), both of whom were selected in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Urschel, meanwhile, is coming off a selection to the Coaches' First-Team All-Big Ten unit after starting all 12 games at guard last season. Having completed both his undergraduate and master's degree in a span of only four years, Urschel is rounding out his Penn State career this season.

"He's intense, but he's under control because he knows what's going on," teammate Ty Howle said of Urschel on Friday afternoon. "He's had a lot of experience. I think that Indiana game his redshirt freshman year was when he really took off, and he's been playing a lot ever since. Last year, he was All-Big Ten.

"He's in control of his emotions. You find a lot of time in an emotional game, people tend to get too emotional. John, he's in control and knows what's going on. He's smart, he's seeing blitzes. He's a very intelligent football player, and that's something great to have beside you."

The Rotary Lombardi Award will be announced on December 11, 2013 in Houston, Texas, while the Butkus Award is traditionally presented on the home campus of the winner sometime in December.