Penn State DE Abdul Carter wasn’t happy when he got snubbed for the Bronko Nagurski Award and told reporters what he did when he found out.
People already knew one of the things Carter did late last Monday night, which was take to social media.
Penn State DE Abdul Carter reacts to being snubbed for the Nagurski Award (best defensive player). pic.twitter.com/QsiZNONxcH
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) December 10, 2024
But we didn’t know that Carter did something else upon hearing the news.
“It definitely gives me an extra edge,” Carter told reporters Tuesday. “The night I got snubbed for the Nagusrki award, I did some pushups that night, maxed out. I just use it as motivation. Try not to get discouraged.
So why specifically did he decide to do pushups?
“I just like using things as motivation,” he said. “I just like finding ways to get an advantage, get an edge. Just find any kind of way to get better, and I just used it. I don’t want to fuel it with anything negative, so I put it to something positive. Getting better, getting stronger.”
And how many did Carter do?
“I didn’t count,” he said. “I went until failure, until my arms gave out.”
THE SNUB
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Abdul Carter
The Nagurski Award instead went to South Carolina EDGE Kyle Kennard.
Here are the numbers.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Carter: 60 tackles, 19.5 TFL, 10.0 Sk, 2 FF
Kennard: 28 tackles, 16 TFL, 11.5 Sk, 3 FF
Additionally
Carter: 51 pressures, 31 hurries, nine QB hits (Per Pro Football Focus)
Kennard: 36 pressures, 21 hurries, five QB hits.
Abdul Carter did not win the Bronco Nagurski award tonight. Instead, South Carolina's Kyle Kennard did so.
Carter: 60 tackles, 19.5 TFL, 10.0 Sk, 2 FF
Kennard: 28 tackles, 16 TFL, 11.5 Sk, 3 FFI know who I voted for 🤷♂️
— DylanCallaghanCroley (@RivalsDylanCC) December 10, 2024
Carter also lost out on the Lombardi Award (best lineman, offensive or defensive) to Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr.
THE BEST PLAYER IN AMERICA?
Abdul Carter strikes the Heisman pose.
Carter believes he’s the best defensive player in college football, and that’s not all.
“I feel like I’m the best player in general. We like to categorize a lot as defensive players but we impact the game just as much as offensive players. It doesn’t have to be defensive player, it’s player overall. But I just use it all as motivation.”
Penn State takes on SMU for its first-ever College Football Playoff game Saturday, Dec. 21 at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on TNT/HBO Max.
