Penn State Deals With a 'Spike' in Injuries This Season

James Franklin says the Nittany Lions must develop depth to address the growing number of "bumps and bruises."

Penn State coach James Franklin stands on the field during a warm up prior to the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State football fans who follow the program closely know that coach James Franklin discusses injuries only reluctantly or to provide context. This week, Franklin offered a slight bit of insight into the program's injury situation and its impact on the 2024 Nittany Lions.

"We've had more bumps and bruises this year than we've had in the last couple years," Franklin told reporters after a practice this week in State College. "Three years ago [during the 2021 season] we we had a decent spike in some bumps and bruises, and we've got that right now. So we've got to develop depth. That's going to be really, really important for us moving forward."

Penn State has sustained some significant injuries through spring drills, training camp and even early into the 2024 season. The latest "long-term injury," as Franklin now terms it, involves tight end Andrew Rappleyea. The redshirt freshman started the opener at West Virginia but did not play against Bowling Green after sustaining an undisclosed injury late in the week before the game.

Rappleyea joined players such as defensive end Zuriah Fisher, linebacker Keon Wylie, wide receiver Peter Gonzalez and quarterback Jaxon Smolik on the list of those dealing with such injuries. There's no indication when any of those players could return. In addition, Penn State starting safety KJ Winston left the Bowling Green game in the first half and did not return. Franklin said after the game that he couldn't discuss the situation.

Penn State's availability reports through the first two weeks have included 11 players listed as "out" for both games. Most weren't expected to contribute significanly this season, but the list underscores Franklin's assessment about "bumps and bruises" and how physical training camp was for the Nittany Lions. "It was tough, as it was designed to be," Franklin said before the opener against West Virginia.

As a result, Penn State entered a very early bye week in a unique position: seeking to heal some of these injuries and "bumps and bruises" while addressing developmental depth after just two games.

"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," Franklin said this week.

RELATED: The Penn State bye week roundtable

Penn State has been hit particularly hard at linebacker, where three players were "out" for the Bowling Green game. That included Wylie, a projected contributor at the position who has a "long-term" injury. Tight end also has been affected, as Khalil Dinkins and Jerry Cross were out for the opener at West Virginia. Though they were available for the Bowling Green game, Rappleyea was listed as out. In addition, Franklin has referenced reduced snaps for some wide receivers, including Kaden Saunders, which has led Penn State to work around those issues.

Asked this week about the uptick in injuries, Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey cited a combination of factors but couldn't pinpoint a singlular reason.

"My No. 1 priority as always with these guys is to bullet-proof them as much as I can," Losey said. "That's one of our main training objectives. This is my 21st year in the profession, and you have those years sometimes where your injury rates are higher than others. I think it's a combination of a lot of things. I think the game just continues to get bigger and continues to get faster. I think we practice aggressively, we train aggreasively.

"I'm not going to sit here and pinpoint one thing. I just know that if I ever do see some type of pattern — and that's my job, to look for patterns — that I've got to do my best to address them as soon as I can. And the best way to do that is to be proactive on the front end and just try to get ahead of it the best we can. But to answer your question why there's more [injuries] this year as opposed to years past, can't really say at this point."

Here's a look at Penn State's first two availability reports regarding who was "out" for each game. "Out" references availability to play. Penn State returns to action Sept. 21 against Kent State. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET at Beaver Stadium.

Week 1 vs. West Virginia

• Redshirt freshman quarterback Jaxon Smolik

• Redshirt junior tight end Khalil Dinkins

• Freshman defensive end Mylachi Williams

• Freshman linebacker Kari Jackson

• Redshirt sophomore linebacker Keon Wylie

• Redshirt senior defensive end Zuriah Fisher

• Redshirt freshman defensive end Mason Robinson

• Freshman defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam

• Freshman receiver Peter Gonzalez

• Redshirt sophomore tight end Jerry Cross

• Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Sam Siafa

• Freshman defensive tackle Liam Andrews

• Freshman defensive tackle De’Andre Cook

• Freshman defensive tackle T.A. Cunningham

Week 2 vs. Bowling Green

• Redshirt freshman quarterback Jaxon Smolik

• Freshman defensive end Mylachi Williams

• Redshirt freshman linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson

• Freshman linebacker Kari Jackson

• Redshirt sophomore linebacker Keon Wylie

• Redshirt freshman defensive end Mason Robinson

• Redshirt senior defensive end Zuriah Fisher

• Freshman wide receiver Peter Gonzalez

• Redshirt freshman tight end Andrew Rappleyea

• Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Sam Siafa

• Freshman defensive tackle Liam Andrews

• Freshman defensive tackle De’Andre Cook

• Freshman defensive tackle T.A. Cunningham

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.