Penn State Sports Magazine
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N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2 2 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M have sacks … what we see as a coaching staff is, are these guys improving, and are they becoming the players we think they can be? "With both of them, you have to take a step back and realize that these are two young guys playing as true freshmen in the Big Ten. Right now, they don't look out of place. So that's been really encour- aging. We're excited that they're part of us. We think their potential going for- ward is really unlimited." The same could be said of Carter, too. The three first-year Penn State players continue to earn more opportunities. Next year, they'll be expected to anchor the de- fense. What they learn this season will go a long way toward ensuring they have the on- and off-field abilities to do just that. "Those boys are some dogs," redshirt junior defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon said. "All of them are way ahead of their time. They're smart, they're hungry, they're desperate, and they are just awe- some teammates. "I love it. They were some great addi- tions to the team." 'Incredibly Talented' While all three can and will flash, the hopes may be highest for Carter to find the national spotlight first. Whether or not that happens by the end of this sea- son remains to be seen, but the talent is there for his rise to continue on a lo- cal, regional and national scale, all while helping Diaz's defense be the best ver- sion of itself game in and game out, and snap after snap. "He's a huge weapon," said Dan Con- nor, a former Penn State All-America linebacker and current off-field analyst. "He's going to be an exciting guy to fol- low these next couple of years. "He's obviously incredibly talented; he's as talented a guy as you'll ever see. He's 6-3, 230, can rush the passer, he runs a 4.4 [in the 40-yard dash]. "The thing that impresses me most about Abdul is his approach to the game. He's very mature for a kid who's probably 18, maybe 19 years old. He's mature and deliberate in his preparation." Added Penn State tight end Theo Johnson, who's been a frequent prac- tice competitor with Carter, "I think he's very eager to learn. He's kind of like a sponge on the field with the coaches, and I think that's probably the biggest thing. As soon as he got on campus, he was a competitor. He was trying to get one-on-one work with the tight ends, and whoever wanted it, really. "That's the biggest thing that set him apart. His willingness to learn and his competitive edge have helped him to be successful at such an early age." ■ Green Lights Mean Fewer Freshmen Will Redshirt This Fall Entering the Penn State-Michigan game in Ann Arbor on Oct. 15, seven Nittany Lions true fresh- men had burned their redshirt. That number now sits at nine. Before the 2022 season began, head coach James Franklin predicted that Penn State's true freshman class would see ample playing time this fall. But it was uncertain just how many players would fall into the "green light" category and lose a year of eligibility by appearing in at least five games. Franklin called the discussion "fluid." In the program's parlance, freshmen have either a green, yellow or red light. Yellow light status means a player will probably be held out after seeing action in four games, barring a depth problem at his position group. Red light status indicates the player is not expected to cross the four-game threshold under any circumstances. During preseason practice, Franklin said he met with the freshmen to let them know how the staff would evaluate their readiness. "I said, 'Let's be perfectly clear: Just because you've been given the green light, if you're not showing us you're ready [for the season opener] against Purdue, you're not playing. Or you've been given a yellow last week but all of a sudden the light has come on for you and you're doing some really good things, now you're trending toward being a green,'" Franklin explained. "That's really a very fluid kind of conversation throughout the year. Obviously, it gets to a point, about midseason, where you've got to make some decisions one way or another. Either you're mov- ing ahead with playing guys, or you're going to try to use the four-game model and save guys." Penn State took 14 members of its 2022 recruiting class to Michigan. That was notable, because the team can only send 74 players to a Big Ten road game. The list included quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, receivers Kaden Saunders and Omari Evans, offensive linemen Vega Ioane and Drew Shelton, defensive linemen Dani Dennis- Shelton and Zane Durant, linebackers Abdul Carter and Keon Wylie, and defensive backs Cam Miller and Kevin Winston Jr. Two of those players — Allar and Winston — saw time in their fifth game of the season and can no longer preserve a year of eligibility. Six other players had already surpassed the four-game limit when the team headed to Ann Arbor: Singleton, Allen, Dennis-Sutton, Durant, Evans and Carter. Heading into the Ohio State game on Oct. 29, Miller had played in four games, while Saunders and offensive linemen JB Nelson and Drew Shelton had each played in two. Four players — Ioane, Wylie, cornerback Cristian Driver and safety Mehki Flowers — had seen action in one game. The other members of Penn State's freshman class had yet to see the field this year. — Greg Pickel Quarterback Drew Allar played in his fifth game of the season when he took the field in the second half at Michigan. With that appearance, he no longer has the option of redshirting this fall. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE