For Penn State and Pat Freiermuth, Another Cruel Ending

Pat Freiermuth, Penn State's All-American tight end, will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

Penn State's Pat Freiermuth considered joining Micah Parsons on the early road to the NFL, a decision no one should have begrudged. But when the Big Ten announced its restored season in September, few players were more thrilled about returning than the All-American tight end.

"I'm very happy with my decision to stay," Freiermuth said in October. "And I mean, I still owe so much more to this community than it owes me."

So it seemed particularly cruel Saturday that Freiermuth, dressed in warmups, wearing a hood and a face mask, was left to be the cheerleader during Penn State's 41-21 loss to Iowa. Yet Freiermuth handled even that moment with grace, coaching his fellow tight ends through warmups, lingering a few extra beats with the running backs and trying to warm the sideline on a trying day.

Freiermuth's Penn State career is over, the result of a shoulder injury that will require surgery. Coach James Franklin made that announcement after Penn State fell to 0-5 for the first time in school history, marking the latest numbing moment of this 2020 season.

Freiermuth, who sustained the injury against Ohio State, played through pain the past two weeks, particularly against Nebraska. But last week, Franklin said, Freiermuth and his parents made the decision on surgery (he'll have it next week) and his future.

It was the wise move. Freiermuth has a certain NFL career, one that needs to begin now with rehabilitation and a commitment to his future. But his college career ended too soon. 

"Pat’s going to be OK," defensive end Shaka Toney said. "He's not hanging his head. It's a tough loss, but I love my brother. He's going to be back."

The end of Freiermuth's season marked yet another lament for a team that hasn't put its best lineup on the field once this season. Penn State's two preseason All-Americans, Freiermuth and linebacker Micah Parsons, played a total of four games (all by Freiermuth).

Running back Journey Brown was forced to end his career because of a heart condition, his replacement Noah Cain lasted one series of the opener and his replacement Devyn Ford did not play Saturday after the first series. By game's end, Penn State was down to two available scholarship running backs, both true freshmen.

The Lions also were missing starting cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields, tight end Zack Kuntz and linebacker Charlie Katshir. After quarterbacks Will Levis and Sean Clifford combined for four turnovers Saturday, coach James Franklin couldn't turn to No. 3 quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson, who was unavailable as well. 

For a coach who fought to play a 2020 season, Franklin has had to fight his way through his own lineup and practices and COVID-19 false-positive test results every week. Asked what he would say to fans after all this, Franklin offered little explanation but no excuse.

"It's not good enough," the coach said. "There’s obviously a lot of circumstances going on this year, but none of that matters at the end of the day. We've got to find a way to play good football, and we have not done that."

The loss of Freiermuth significantly stung an offense that has been so unable to move the ball consistently. Freiermuth has been a model of consistency for three years. He caught a pass in 29 consecutive games, including a 74-yarder last week against Nebraska that clearly was made under duress.

The injury ended a season, and career, that featured so much success. The tight end caught his 16th touchdown pass of the season (a program record for tight ends) on the team's first possession of this season. In the end zone, Freiermuth joyously ran to the camera to shout, "I'm back." It was fleeting.

But even as the losses mounted, and Freiermuth's injury worsened, he didn't concede an inch. After Penn State lost its first three games, Freiermuth said "it hasn't crossed my mind to opt out," adding that he would remain with the team "until I decide my time is up here."

Though he's not playing, Freiermuth's time at Penn State isn't quite over. He spent last week helping coach the tight ends and will remain with the team even after surgery, Franklin said. Hopefully he gets to walk out with the seniors before Penn State's home finale against Michigan State.

"That's not my personality to just walk away when we’re down and the program’s down," Freiermuth said earlier this month. "I’m going to get up and fight back and try to get us our first win this season and do anything I can to make this program go to the next step."

In October, before the season resumed, Freiermuth sounded as eager to play as anyone. Particularly for Penn State. He deserved a better finish.

"It's important to me because I made a commitment," Freiermuth said then. "I said that I would come here, get my degree and play as long as I could. Obviously, I could have left [after the 2019 season] and maybe I could have been a potential Day 2 draft pick. But at the end of the day, I'm very happy with my decision to stay. And I mean, I still owe so much more to this community than it owes me."