Penn State's Lamont Wade Nominated for Jim Thorpe Award

Penn State's Lamont Wade, who was named to the preseason watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, will be part of a university task force that will review the Student Code of Conduct.

Wade, a senior safety, is part of a group of students and faculty on the task force, which Penn State President Eric Barron convened in June. Barron said that the task force seeks to ensure "that our community has a full understanding of [the code of conduct's] purpose and provisions, including the role of restorative justice."

In May, Wade said that he speaks publicly about social issues to help share "perspective on situations through different lenses."

"I feel like it's important to understand how some people feel whenever they're in an environment where they feel like they're supposed to be protected but it kind of feels like the opposite is happening," Wade said on a video call with reporters.

On the field, Wade is among 49 players nominated for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to the nation's top defensive back. He was named honorable mention All-Big Ten last season, when he started all 13 games.

The highlight was his performance against Ohio State, which included three forced fumbles. That tied a Big Ten record for forced fumbles in a game.

Tim Banks, Penn State's safeties coach, said he expects Wade to be a cornerstone of the team's defense this season.

"The guys respect him because of his knowledge, because of his work ethic," Banks said. "This will be a big year for him from a leadership perspective. He was a guy who, on Saturdays, definitely brought all the energy, and the guys could feed off him. But this year I expect him to take another step in terms of really helping the kids prepare through the week. ... I think he's really just scratching the surface of how good he could be going into his senior year."

As watch-list season rolls on, here's a list of Penn State's preseason awards candidates.

Lott IMPACT Trophy: Linebacker Micah Parsons

Chuck Bednarik Award: Linebacker Micah Parsons

Davey O'Brien Award: Quarterback Sean Clifford

Doak Walker Award: Running backs Journey Brown, Noah Cain

Biletnikoff Award: Tight end Pat Freiermuth

John Mackey Award: Tight end Pat Freiermuth

Butkus Award: Linebacker Micah Parsons

Jim Thorpe Award: Safety Lamont Wade

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