Blue White Illustrated

Senior safety Ryan Keiser missed the Ohio State game aCer suffering what head coach James Franklin called a "freak" injury during practice last Thursday. On Monday, the Penn State athletics department announced that Keiser will miss the remainder of the sea- son due to the unspecified injury. This week, varying media reports have circulated regarding Keiser's condition, some suggesting that he had to undergo emergency surgery for an infection. At his weekly news conference Tuesday, head coach James Franklin clarified some details and said Keiser is recovering. "Ryan Keiser did suffer a fracture in a rib in practice last Thursday," Franklin said in his opening statement. "ACer un- dergoing operations for a small bowel in- jury sustained, overall he's improving. And he's at the Hershey Medical Center right now. There is no infection. "So I just want to make sure we're clear. Ryan's family has our complete support. I've talked to his mother, talked to Ryan. Our trainers and doctors have been in constant contact or have been involved every step of the way. I just want to clear that up because I know how the Penn State community supports one another. I want to make sure everyone under- stands clearly what's going on." Asked whether Keiser is in critical or stable condition, Franklin replied that the above quote "is the statement that I was allowed to release. I'll kind of leave it at that." Franklin confirmed that true freshman Marcus Allen will take over Keiser's starting role. Allen earned the start vs. Ohio State, just two days aCer Keiser suffered the practice injury, and finished with 11 tackles and two passes defended. Replacing Keiser, however, will be next to impossible, as his contributions ex- tend further than the stat sheet and play- ing field, Franklin said. "I love everything about him," he added. "He is one of the nicest, most kind, most thoughtful kids I've been around. Same thing with his family. He's an unbelievable teammate. He's really coachable. He's got a really strong faith and spirituality and he shared that with the team. He's a special guy." Keiser, who majors in kinesiology, in- tends to become a physical education teacher in the future. He also aspires to coach. Franklin said Tuesday that he and his staff have even considered hiring Keiser at Penn State following his graduation, perhaps in a player-development role. "I think so highly of him [that] I talked about trying to get him to work for us in some capacity," Franklin said. "He's one of those kids that everyone in our pro- gram respects. You spend enough time with him and he makes you want to be a better person, a better coach. He's in our prayers, and his family is in our prayers and we can't get him back soon enough." Penn State also announced Monday that running back Zach Zwinak will miss the rest of the season, thus ending his college career. The senior suffered an ankle injury on the opening kickoff vs. the Buckeyes. With a team that is com- prised of mostly underclassmen – nearly 75 percent of the roster, in fact – veterans are at a premium. Losing seniors like Keiser and Zwinak is a difficult blow to take. "When we had so few seniors in the first place, when you lose a couple of those guys, it probably has a bigger im- pact than [at] most programs," Franklin said. Classmate Mike Hull echoed his coach's comments. "I'm good friends with both of those guys," the senior linebacker said. "It's hard whenever you lose players like that. But we have really good young players that are going to step up and do their job, [but] it's hard to lose guys like Keiser and Zach from a leadership standpoint." T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M O C T O B E R 2 9 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 11 Keiser, Zwinak out for season Injuries bring premature end to playing careers of two senior leaders Patrick Mansell GAME WINNER Keiser's in- terception sealed PSU's over- time win over Illinois last season.

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