Penn State's Abdul Carter 'Looks Great' After Fiesta Bowl Injury, James Franklin Says

Carter, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, was injured in the first half of the Nittany Lions' win over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Abdul Carter (11) reacts with teammates after defeating the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

GLENDALE, Ariz. | Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, injured in the Nittany Lions' Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State, "looks great" a day later, coach James Franklin said Wednesday morning. During an appearance on ESPN College GameDay, the Penn State coach said that Carter still was getting evaluated for a first-half injury but sounded a positive note about Carter's status for Penn State's apperance in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.

"Abdul's going to do everything in his power to try to get back. If he's able to go, I know he'll go," Franklin said on GameDay. "We'll get him checked out to make sure everything's OK. I just saw him walking from breakfast, and he looks great and his attitude is great. But I just don't have a ton of information for you right now. We'll get back [to State College] and get some more information and find out quickly. The little extra time helps, too."

Carter, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, sustained an upper body injury early in the second quarter Tuesday night after Penn State forced Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen into a third-down incompletion. He went to Penn State's sideline medical tent, returned on the next series but pulled himself from the drive after playing one snap. Carter returned to the medical tent, peeking his head out when Boise State fans roared after the team's first touchdown.

ESPN showed Penn State's training staff appearing to treat Carter's left shoulder. The defensive end, who led the Power 4 conference with 21.5 tackles for loss, returned to the sideline in the second half without a helmet. Though he did not play again after the injury. Carter was animated during the Nittany Lions' postgame celebration.

Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter (11) reacts with the trophy after the Nittany Lions defeated the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Carter, a projected top-10 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, was a key figure of Penn State's defensive plan to limit Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Defensive coordinator Tom Allen said he intentionally moved Carter to different spots to affect Jeanty's rush angles and ability to cut into space. Though Carter didn't record a stat, he and fellow defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton were disruptive early. Jeanty had just four yards on his first three carries and 20 in the first quarter.

"We did some things with Abdul, trying to put him around the ball, did some things they hadn’t seen before," Allen said. "I didn’t want [Boise State] to sit there for three weeks and be able to scheme us up, so I feel like our coaches bought into that, and we had so many ways to play him and it worked."

After Carter was injured, Allen said he went to his "Plan B." That included larger roles for veteran defensive ends Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert, linebacker Dom DeLuca assuming parts of Carter's responsibilities and true freshman Max Granville playing some key third-down snaps. Allen gave Penn State's defense a mission: not to allow Jeanty to break Barry Sanders' single-season college football rushing record. Jeanty ran for 104 yards, 28 shy of the record.

"He has earned our respect, and we didn’t want that to be diminished," Allen said of Jeanty. "But you want to be able to stop the guy. We didn’t want him to get the record against us. It wasn’t going to happen against us. That was our mindset, and our guys took pride in that. Our goal was to hold him under a hundred and we were really, really close."

Carter has a week to rest before Penn State plays in the Orange Bowl, one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games. Kickoff is scheduled for Jan. 9 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Nittany Lions will play the winner of Wednesday's Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia.

THE STATUS of ABDUL CARTER: On ESPN’s College GameDay, James Franklin said of the Penn Stare edge rusher injured vs. Boise State: “Abdul is going to do everything in his power to try to get back” for the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9. “If he’s able to go, I know he’ll go.” pic.twitter.com/gOWmoowtBM

— Mike Poorman (@PSUPoorman) January 1, 2025

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