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Senior Tributes: Sean Stanley

The senior defensive end helped anchor the line this year, starting eleven of the twelve games after playing in most games over the last four seasons for Penn State.

Eric Francis

Stanley came to Penn State out of Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg, MD, in the class of 2009. He held a 3-star rating from both Rivals and Scout, and chose the Nittany Lions over Michigan, Nebraska, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse and Pitt.

The defensive end was a workhorse for a traditional Montgomery County, MD power high school program, recording over 70 tackles and 27 sacks in his high school career. He came to State College as an all-state, all-county, and all-conference selection, and was named to the Washington Post All-Met first team.

Stanley saw time in eleven games each in 2009 (his true freshman season) and 2010, recording a total of 22 tackles (6 solo), 4 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defended in limited time, backing up Jerome Hayes, Eric Latimore and Pete Massaro,

In 2011, Stanley started much of the season. His junior year saw him record 30 tackles (20 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 passes defended. Perhaps one of the most surprisingly awesome plays of the season, let alone Stanley's career, was at Ohio State on November 19, 2011, when Stanley dropped back in coverage, ran stride for stride with Buckeye Jordan Hall, and successfully batted down a Braxton Miller pass to the wide receiver, who no doubt didn't expect a lineman to be covering him twenty yards down the field. To this day, that play marks the measure of athleticism that have defined Penn State defensive ends.

His senior season saw Stanley named a 2012 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, racking up 35 tackles (15 solo), 9.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He hasn't been the focus of much press and his numbers, while solid, aren't particularly amazing, which makes his inclusion in the Honorable Mention team that much more impressive.

Stanley is currently listed at 6'1", 243 pounds, a bit undersized for a defensive end, but is still rated by nfldraftscout.com as the #50 out of 210 players at his position to be drafted in 2013.

Thank you for your four years of solid play, Sean, on behalf of BSD and the entire Penn State community. We wish you well wherever life may take you. Cheers!


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