Penn State Football: How Has Abdul Carter’s Freshman Season Compared to Micah Parsons’?

The moment Penn State freshman linebacker Abdul Carter announced he was wearing the No. 11 the comparisons began. Could Carter match all of the players to have worn the No. 11 before him? Could he bring the same level of playmaking ability and game-changing skills of Micah Parsons? Could he move like LaVar Arrington or play with the physicality of NaVorro Bowman? Time would tell.

Fair or not, Carter knew what he was signing up for when he made the No. 11 his own, and with Penn State’s 2022 regular season over and done with it’s hard not to see a player poised to live up to the hype. If anything, a player who may have already lived up to that hype.

“I’m proud of him. He’s gotten better every single week,” Penn State coach James Franklin said on Saturday. “He’s got a ton of natural physical ability that he’s getting more and more confident within the scheme, which not only is helping our defense play better, but it’s also putting him in position to make more and more plays.”

So did Carter match Micah Parsons’ freshman season, the most comparable and most recent benchmarking performance? Yes and no.

• Abdul Carter: [12 games played] 10.5 TFL 35 solo, 20 assisted, 6.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
• Micah Parsons: [13 games played] 5 TFL, 48 solo, 35 assisted, 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

Early in his career Carter has been far more disruptive at the line of scrimmage doubling Parsons’ freshman total of tackles for a loss and nearly tripling his sack total. That said Parsons was in on far more plays through 13 games, totaling 83 tackles while Carter sits at 55 through 12 games. Everything else is just about even. In reality a 20 tackle difference isn’t insignificant but from a purely eye test perspective it’s safe to say Carter certainly passes it, no matter what his numbers end up being.

“His ability to burst and chase the quarterback, or burst and chase running backs on the perimeter, or within the box, it’s impressive,” Franklin said. “He’s got the ability to find the ball and when he gets there, he’s got bad intentions. So, it’s been fun to watch his development from the beginning of the year to now. He’s got acceleration, and burst, and aggression like not too many people on the planet, let alone on our team. You guys see it, we see it. He’s growing every single week and getting better.”

As for his teammates? They see a bit of Parsons in the younger Carter, even if he has work to do to become the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of The Year.

“You look at [Carter], and you can see Micah,” Penn State defensive end Nick Tarburton said. “It’s kind of interesting. Abdul has got a way to go with that, but he’s a hell of a player, and it’s fun playing beside him.”

“I saw [Carter] the first week and said, ‘Dang, that looks like another 11 I saw,’” defensive tackle PJ Mustipher added. “He’ll definitely have his own journey and own path. I know him and Micah are very similar, but I don’t want Micah’s success to get in the way of his success because he’ll have plenty, and he’ll carve out his own path.”

And that’s probably the most sage advice of all: Not to compare Carter to Parsons or anyone else, and to simply let Abdul Carter be Abdul Carter.