It was a busy day for player availability updates as James Franklin spoke to the media on Tuesday afternoon during his weekly press conference. In total, some Nittany Lions are expected while others will be done for the remainder of the season.
To start, Franklin noted that linebacker Charlie Katshir had suffered a season ending injury and will not be available for the remainder of the Nittany Lions’ 2020 campaign. Katshir had not been a major piece to Penn State rotation at linebacker but did make an appearance in three games and otherwise provided an already thin group with additional depth and options.
At running back, Franklin said that Devyn Ford returned to practice with the team this week after missing Penn State’s game at Michigan due to a death in the family. According to Franklin, Ford was not hampered by any potential quarantining issues for leaving State College. It’s unclear if Ford left the state, although he is originally from Virginia. In either case daily COVID-19 testing per Big Ten health and safety standards, likely mitigated any potential quarantine period.
Prior to his brief departure Ford had been Penn State’s primary back in the wake of Noah Cain and Journey Brown’s season and career-ending medical issues. With Ford out of the mix, Penn State leaned primarily on freshman back Keyvone Lee who provided a solid outing with 134 yards on 22 carries, good enough to earn him Big Ten Freshmen of The Week honors.
It remains to be seen how Lee’s performance will impact the Nittany Lion rotation moving forward, especially as Ford -who has been reliable as the most veteran player in the group- was not wildly more productive than his younger counterparts. Ford has rushed for 209 yards on just over 50 carries. Generally speaking Penn State has used a three back rotation between Ford, Lee and freshman Caziah Holmes and it stands to reason that will continue against Rutgers.
Finally the Nittany Lions are also expecting a more complete depth chart at cornerback this weekend, Penn State had just three available corners against Michigan giving Joey Porter Jr., Marquis Wilson, and Daequan Hardy a large workload in the win against the Wolverines.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I don’t think I’ve ever been in that situation, and again I know this year is different, but to only have three available, and those guys take all those reps and still factor in on special teams, that was big.” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “I was very proud of those guys. I made a big deal out of it in the locker room [and] I made a big deal out of it with those guys individually, as well.”
Franklin did not specify how many corners he expected back but anticipated being at four or possibly five available this Saturday. Tariq Castro-Fields and Keaton Ellis were both unavailable against Michigan with both having previously missed time this season.
Castro-Fields would be a substantial addition to the group as the room’s most veteran presence. Ellis, who had a promising freshman campaign, was ousted from his starting role by Porter Jr this summer on Penn State’s depth chart but figures to be an important part of that room for the remainder of his career.
While one would be hard pressed to say the Nittany Lions’ 1-5 start is quite what Penn State had in mind when the calendar rolled into 2020, but with healthy bodies returning to the lineup and a manageable final few games on the schedule, there’s nothing to say a forgettable year can gather some positive momentum during a not so positive year.
