Penn State will be without one of its backup running backs for the foreseeable future.
Cam Wallace, who was the team’s third-string running back behind Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, is out with “long-term injury,” James Franklin said Monday. Wallace was carted to the locker room after an injury in the fourth quarter in a 56-0 win over Kent State on Sept. 21.
Wallace took 18 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown in three games this season. His absence will likely lead to the promotion of true freshman Quinton Martin Jr., who made his college debut after Wallace exited against the Golden Flashes.
Martin rushed seven times for 24 yards in place of Wallace. He has four game appearances remaining before his freshman redshirt is burned.
Wallace’s injury is a tough pill for the Nittany Lions to swallow, but the potential returns of three starters could help lessen the burn. Franklin said he expects linebacker Dominic DeLuca, right guard Sal Wormely and cornerback Jalen Kimber to return, but did not specify when.
DeLuca was ruled inactive this past weekend after sustaining a right-arm injury in the second quarter against Kent State. Wormley and Kimber each exited with injuries against Illinois and did not return. Franklin did not provide an update on backup guard JB Nelson, who was also injured against the Fighting Illini after replacing Wormley.
DeLuca’s injury forced Penn State to start newly-converted linebacker DaKaari Nelson, once a safety, this past weekend.
“The light has really gone on for him. And that happens for players at different points in their career,” Franklin said of Nelson, who has been named the Nittany Lions’ special teams player of the week each of the past two games. “It started, like most of them, on special teams. He was having success on special teams. That success has led into defense, and he’s having success there.”
