Pete Massaro will don the blue and white for one more game, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. The game will be seen nationally on ESPN2 on Saturday at 3P.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 14, 2013 – Defensive end Pete Massaro (Newtown Square) has become the third 2012 Penn State senior to accept an invitation to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. Massaro is the eighth Nittany Lion invited to play in a post-season game.
Massaro will join defensive end Sean Stanley (Rockville, Md.) and running back Michael Zordich at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. The game is Saturday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. ESPN2 will televise the contest.
Massaro helped Coach Bill O’Brien’s Nittany Lions earn an 8-4 overall record, with a 6-2 Big Ten mark, finishing second in the Leaders Division. He helped Penn State allow 17 points or less in six contests, ranking second in the Big Ten and No. 16 nationally in scoring defense (19.1 ppg).
During the 2012 season, Massaro made eight tackles, with 1.0 tackle for loss, 0.5 sack and one pass break-up. He made one tackle against Ohio and Virginia, but suffered a shoulder injury against the Cavaliers and missed the next three games with an injury. The former Marple Newtown High School standout recorded two stops with 0.5 sack vs. Ohio State and one solo hit in the wins over Purdue and Indiana.
Massaro is one of college football’s premier student-athletes. He was selected a first-team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2010 and 2012, becoming the 10th Nittany Lion all-time to twice earn first-team Academic All-America honors. He earned his degree in finance in 2011 with a 3.85 grade-point average and graduated with a second degree, in economics, last month.