Penn State is cautiously optimistic to have linebacker/defensive end Jesse Luketa and safety Jonathan Sutherland healthy and available this weekend for the Nittany Lions’ clash against Michigan, according to coach James Franklin.
“We’re hopeful to have those guys back,” Franklin said earlier this week. Neither Sutherland or Luketa played last weekend in Penn State’s 31-14 victory over Maryland but both were seen practicing earlier in the week during the media’s brief look at practice Wednesday evening.
However as Franklin noted, practicing and being able to play are sometimes two very different things.
So far this season Luketa – who has played both defensive end and linebacker this year – has registered 40 tackles (25 solo), six tackles for a loss, one-half of a sack and interception return for a touchdown. Meanwhile the veteran Sutherland has been credited with 15 tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup this season.
If there is a silver-lining for Penn State this season it’s that the Nittany Lions have been able to fill the void left behind by various injuries – especially on the defensive front. In the wake of defensive tackle PJ Mustipher’s season-ending injury, Penn State has been able to lean on plenty of new faces including Dvon Ellies and Coziah Izzard.
“Both of those young men, I think, have done a nice job of stepping up and having bigger roles within our unit,” defensive line coach John Scott Jr said on Thursday. “We’ve always had from Day 1, the thing that we preach is the next man up mentality, and you don’t replace a PJ Mustipher, but what you try to do is get guys to step up and guys all do their one-eleventh, as we say all the time, and you get a combination, a group of guys filling that, and that’s how you fill the role.”
Healthy or not, Penn State will need all the help it can get on Saturday against a Michigan team that ranks sixth in the nation in rushing offense. The Wolverines average 234 yards per game on the ground on just over 40 carries. The Wolverines have also only given up 19 tackles for a loss this year, the best mark in the nation and eight fewer than the next closest team – No. 1 ranked Georgia.
