Injuries, to an extent, derailed what began as a promising 2021 season for Penn State. And through two games this season, James Franklin is already drawing parallels in regard to his program’s lack of health three years prior.
What is causing the team’s injury influx could be anyone’s guess, but it’s already played a role just weeks into what could be a historically long campaign.
“We’ve had more bumps and bruises this year than we’ve had in the last couple years. Three years ago, we had a decent spike and some bumps and bruises, and we got that right now,” Franklin said after practice Tuesday. “So we got to develop depth that’s going to be really, really important for us moving forward.”
There were a handful of players banged up before and during the Nittany Lions’ 34-27 win against Bowling Green last Saturday. Kevin Winston Jr., the team’s star safety, left early in the second quarter and did not return. He was not seen at Tuesday’s practice viewing window. Tony Rojas and Dominic DeLuca, two starting linebackers, also missed a portion of action.
Then there’s banged-up linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson, tight end Andrew Rappleyea, who Franklin confirmed is out with a “long-term injury,” and more. A total of 13 players were ruled inactive ahead of Saturday’s game, the most in the Big Ten, according to the conference’s availability report.
Does strength and conditioning coach Chuck Losey attribute anything to the early uptick in injuries? Not necessarily.
“This is my 21st year in the profession, and you have those years sometimes where your injury rates are higher than others,” Losey said on Wednesday. “I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. I think the game just continues to get bigger. It continues to get faster. I think we practice aggressively, we train aggressively.”
It’s not completely out of the ordinary for injuries to occur, given that football is naturally a physical game. But it is alarming that so many have popped up so early into the season, one that could very well expand past the typical 12- or 13-game mark with the debut of an expanded College Football Playoff.
Losey followed a similar line on Wednesday to many players, like defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas, this summer: that this year’s preseason camp was “more challenging” from a physical perspective than years prior. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, there’s currently a bye week to freshen up before taking on Kent State on Sept. 21.
“We had a couple bumps and bruises. So we had some moving parts that caused us some issues on defense and on special teams,” Franklin said of his most recent win. “But obviously the bye week came at a really good time to kind of spend some time working through some of these things, get some things cleaned up.”
Injuries can obviously have a significant effect on a roster, especially when it’s key playmakers who are dealing with the bumps and bruises. Take this past weekend, for example. Winston left the game, which moved primary nickel corner Jaylen Reed to safety and starting cornerback Cam Miller to Reed’s nickel role.
There’s a trickle-down effect and it certainly played a role in the Nittany Lions’ near defeat against Bowling Green. In-game injuries have the prospect of spontaneously moving players all over the field while also limiting depth at the positions they came from, which is exactly what happened in the case of Reed and Miller.
“I don’t think we missed a beat with Cam playing the ‘Lion’ position and moving Jay Reed back,” nickels coach Justin Lustig said. “However, it does just make you a little bit thin in the back end.”
There’s nothing Losey can really say as a cause for injuries. They just happen. But it is something that, if they continue, could eventually play a pivotal role in the team’s hopes for this season and beyond. Losey can only keep a lookout as Franklin continues to develop his depth down the roster.
Perhaps getting more inexperienced players involved in what should be a blowout against the Golden Flashes is exactly what the Nittany Lions need to prepare the back end of their depth chart.
“I’m not gonna sit here and pinpoint one thing. I just know that if I ever do see some type of pattern, and that’s my job, is to look for patterns, that I got to do my best to address them as soon as I can,” Losey said. “And the best way to do that is to be proactive on the front end and just try and get ahead of this as best we can.”
