Abdul Carter’s availability for Penn State’s College Football Playoff semifinal against Notre Dame on Jan. 9 remains unclear, coach James Franklin said Saturday.
Carter, the Big Ten’s reigning defensive player of the year, exited the Fiesta Bowl in the first half with an apparent left shoulder injury. His upper arm was heavily wrapped during the postgame celebration, and he appeared to be reluctant to reach for anything with that arm.
“It’s going to come down to how he feels and how much practice he’s able to get during the week,” said Franklin, meeting with reporters for the first time since returning to campus after the Fiesta Bowl. “At this point, I don’t think there’s anything that is stopping him from playing, but it’s going to come down to how (effective) is he able to play, you know? We’ll see.”
Carter, a protected top-10 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, has been Penn State’s most dominant defensive player in 2024. He has 22 tackles for loss, including 11 sacks. Carter transitioned from linebacker to defensive end this season, a move that both improved the Nittany Lions defense and bolstered his draft stock.
Franklin said Carter’s mentality has been “great.” The defensive end recently shared a photo of himself working on his recovery.
Availability reports are not required in the College Football Playoff, so Carter’s status will be something to monitor during pregame warmups on Thursday.
Penn State opened the Fiesta Bowl with three defensive ends on the field, an alignment designed to move Carter around as much as possible and present a look that the defense hadn’t shown much this season.
Between starting defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and backup Amin Vanover, Penn State has talented ends who can disrupt Notre Dame. But this is undoubtedly an elite defense with Carter on the field. There’s also so much more the Lions can do when Carter is healthy. Employing that three-defensive end formation could be critical for the Notre Dame game.
“I wanted to get Abdul to the point of attack and I wanted to play him at linebacker at times too,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said in the locker room after the Fiesta Bowl. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to play that out much because of his injury, but at the same time, that was the plan. We schemed it where we wanted to get him in position to make the play and (by lining him up far outside) they couldn’t double team him.”
Penn State’s defensive players will meet with the media on Sunday and Allen will speak with reporters on Tuesday in South Florida.
“Amin had to step up when Abdul went down and that’s what this team is about,” Allen said. “When guys are injured, other guys gotta step up and make plays.
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(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
