James Franklin is tired of Abdul Carter getting held every game with no flags and he's letting refs know it

Abdul Carter was an All-American linebacker in 2023, and in 2024, he’s one of the best defensive ends in the country. Penn State’s coaching staff and first-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen was smart to move his best player to the edge, but elite pass-rusher respect from the Big Ten officials. 

Carter is nearly impossible to block. He has generated 36 quarterback pressures, top 20 in the country, and his pass-rush win rate of 20.4% is top 10 among players with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps. When the newest member of St1x C1ty isn’t getting to the opposing quarterback, there’s usually a reason. 

Every fanbase believes that their best pass rusher gets held on every play and it's never true, it just feels that way. With that being said, Carter gets held a lot without many penalties to move the offense back, and after Penn State’s 49-10 win over Purdue in Week 12, even James Franklin has decided to put the officials on notice. 

When talking about the return of Carter’s counterpart Dani Dennis-Sutton from an injury that has limited his participation in each of the last two games in his postgame press conference, Franklin diverted the conversation. “I’m surprised that Abdul does not get more holding calls. I think it’s pretty obvious that he’s an issue coming off the edge, and he can get probably three or four more sacks or three or four more holds per game,” Franklin said. 

Before he was benched with the rest of the starters in the third quarter of the blowout win, Carter nearly had a sack of Purdue quarterback Hudson Card, but he was grabbed from behind, allowing Card to escape. It was a blatant missed call and for one of the few times this season, Carter let his frustration boil over. Carter was noticeably upset with the officials, and almost as an admission of the missed call, the Boilermakers were penalized for holds on the next two plays before an illegal forward pass penalty made it second-and-34. 

Carter has been dominant and was named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football, but his stats could look even better. Franklin has spent some time lobbying for Tyler Warren as the Mackey Award and Paul Hornung Award winner as the best tight end and most versatile player in the country, and lobbying for Carter to get more calls could be even more helpful for his candidacy.