James Franklin says Penn State is close to getting vital reinforcements at linebacker

When head coach James Franklin and defensive coordinator Tom Allen moved Abdul Carter from linebacker to defensive end for his junior season, the Penn State coaching staff was excited about all the young talent on the roster to replace Carter’s production in the middle of the defense. 

Kobe King has been a mainstay at inside linebacker as the Nittany Lion’s green dot player relaying the play calls, but Sophomore Tony Rojas has had an up-and-down season and the group has lacked depth from an offseason injury. Redshirt sophomore Keon Wylie has yet to return to the field after sustaining a long-term injury during Spring practices. However, this week as No. 6 Penn State prepares for 5-4 Washington in Week 11, Wylie returned to practice, and on Wednesday, Franklin announced that his talented linebacker could make his season debut soon. 

“Really just whenever he feels like he’s ready to go and the trainers and doctors think he’s ready to go,” Franklin told reporters of Wylie’s timeline. “But he’s getting closer. Guy that we were really excited about coming into the season before the injury, so having him back would be helpful on defense and on special teams.”

Wylie’s return could give a real boost to a linebacker corps that has struggled to find answers and a defense that was unable to stop Ohio State from melting away the final five minutes of last week’s loss with the run game. After Dominic DeLuca injured his hand midseason, the veteran leader’s snap count dipped and finally began to rise against Wisconsin and Ohio State, phasing Tyler Elsdon out of playing time. 

Depth will not only be crucial in the case of another injury but could give Allen an option to spell Rojas, who as a first-year starter has led the team in snaps in the box and has missed 13 tackles, the most on Penn State’s defense. 

It appears unlikely that Wylie will return against Washington on Saturday, but if he gets up to speed and shakes off the considerable rust he’s no doubt built up over the final three games of the regular season, he could be a significant piece of the defense for the postseason. Wylie played 109 snaps across nine games in 2023 and finished the year with 10 solo tackles.