Penn State DE Carl Nassib posting impressive stats

PENN STATE senior defensive end Carl Nassib has gone from non-starter - in college, and also at Malvern Prep - to star.

From medical school candidate to likely NFL draftee.

From self-described nerd to a player his teammates call "Crazy Carl."

His numbers through seven games this season, his first as a regular, are no less insane. He has recorded 11 1/2 sacks, 15 1/2 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles, all No. 1 in the nation. Even as the Nittany Lions (5-2, 2-1 Big Ten) were getting steamrolled last Saturday by top-ranked Ohio State, 38-10, he had eight tackles, 3 1/2 tackles for loss and 1 1/2 sacks.

Afterward, he was surrounded by reporters, wanting to know what happened. Nassib talked about a lack of execution.

"It won't happen again," he said, glimpsing ahead to Saturday's game against Maryland (2-4, 0-2) in Baltimore (3:30, ESPN).

He also talked about the Lions playing cautiously, when aggression was required.

"It won't happen again," he said once more.

Neither will a career quite like his. On a defensive line featuring two other likely pros in tackles Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel, Nassib has stood out, so much so that ESPN.com named him a midseason All-American on Tuesday.

"You talk about a guy that kept kind of pounding away with a sledgehammer on a stone with very little success - and kept pounding . . . and started to create some fractures," coach James Franklin said.

Nassib said it hasn't been easy at times, putting in the time and effort and not having anything to show for it. Still, he has persisted.

"I want to be one of those people that just can look at myself in the mirror and be like, 'I did everything I can to be the best that I can,' " he said. "That's just the mentality I've had for a while.''

Nassib, whose older brother Ryan is the New York Giants' backup quarterback, played sparingly his sophomore year at Malvern Prep, then was beset by injury as a junior. He came off the bench his senior year.

When he walked on at Penn State in 2011, he stood 6-6 and weighed 218 pounds. He redshirted one season, didn't play at all the next, but locked himself in the weight room as he built his body up toward its current dimensions - 6-7 and 275 pounds.

His work ethic made an impression on Bill O'Brien, who while serving as head coach in 2013 rewarded Nassib with a scholarship. His teammates were no less impressed with his industriousness, as well as his manic intensity - hence "Crazy Carl," a nickname first given him when he was a freshman at Malvern, but dusted off as his college career gained momentum.

"We knew he'd be great," Zettel said. "Then the last year he added on that last 25 pounds, which just took his game to a whole other level, which made it impossible for him to be blocked. We anticipated it. Obviously you can't anticipate someone having 11 1/2 sacks in seven games, because it's unheard of, but we knew he was going to have a killer year."

So too did defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, who last spring said Nassib is "the type of guy who I think will come out of nowhere and (have) the type of year that could be an All-Big Ten-caliber year."

Shoop didn't stop there, either.

"He could be a five- or 10-year veteran in the NFL," he said. "He's got a lot of potential."

Nassib still considers himself a nerd, and Franklin said Tuesday that he is "more than somewhat quirky." When Nassib was asked for an example, he said, "I laugh at my own jokes, way too much. But I think I'm hilarious."

His sense of humor was on display when he discussed his backstory with the team on the eve of the Ohio State game, Franklin said. Nassib declined to get into the specifics of that address Tuesday, but did give another glimpse at his lighter side when asked who the best player in his family might be.

"That would definitely, without a question, be my 7-year-old nephew, Jackson," he said. "He's a stud."

Carl has been serious enough about his studies that he is on course to graduate in December with a degree in biology, and he still plans to go to medical school.

"But I love football," he said, "and I'd love to play it as long as I can."

It appears he is going to get that opportunity.