With the news that star wide receiver Koby Howard was practicing this week, there was a growing expectation that he would make his return from an injury he suffered in Penn State’s Week 3 win over Buffalo. However, both he and Chase Sowell, who has been quarterback Rocco Becht’s favorite target since Howard went down, were listed as questionable on the midweek availability report.
Sowell’s appearance on the report was a surprise. But even more surprising is his status on the pregame availability report ahead of 4:15 p.m. ET kickoff at Beaver Stadium with 3-4 Purdue in town is that both Howard and Sowell are listed as OUT.
The two receivers join a list of 14 Nittany Lions who are out for Week 9, coming off a Week 8 bye. Purdue has just four players listed as out on its availability report.
Penn State vs. Purdue pregame availability report:
Penn State:
- Max Granville, DE: OUT
- Alex Tatsch, LB: OUT
- Joshua Johnson, CB: OUT
- Tyler Armstead, CB: OUT
- Mason Robinson, DE: OUT
- Will Tompkins, OL: OUT
- Cooper Alexander, TE: OUT
- Omarion Davis, S: OUT
- Christian Askew, CB: OUT
- Liam Andrews, DT: OUT
- Christiano Rosa, K: OUT
- Alijah Carnell, DT: OUT
- Koby Howard, WR: OUT
- Chase Sowell, WR: OUT
- Brian Kortovich, TE: Game-time decision
- Yvan Kemajou, DE: Game-time decision
- Armstrong Nnodim, DT: Game-time decision
The good news for Penn State is that Jeremiah Cooper and Alexander McPherson have been upgraded from probable and taken off the injury report. Cooper has been a key piece of the safety rotation, though he was largely phased out against Michigan in Week 7.
McPherson, similarly, is a key piece of a defensive end rotation, but unlike Cooper, he played a season-high number of snaps against Michigan, the most of any Penn State edge defender.
Purdue:
- Kylan Fox, TE: OUT
- Raderrian Daniels, DB: OUT
- Jaden Mangham, DB: OUT
- De’Nylon Morrissette, WR: OUT
Penn State underwhelming WR depth will be tested vs. Purdue
After opening as a 6.5-point favorite in a matchup between 3-4 teams, the line ballooned to 11.5 points in favor of the Nittany Lions. It wouldn’t have been unreasonable to read that movement as a sign that Howard was expected to return from injury, and Sowell would be good to go. However, the opposite has happened, and the Nittany Lions could be on upset alert again and in danger of falling to 0-5 in Big Ten play.
It’s not just that Howard and Sowell are Penn State’s best wide receivers; it’s that the depth behind them has been underwhelming. Brett Eskildsen largely kept pace with Sowell as WR2 at Iowa State last year, but he’s caught just 22 of his 35 targets this season for 225 yards and a touchdown. On throws over 20 yards downfield, which was supposed to be his specialty, Eskildsen has just one catch on seven targets.
Zay Robinson, another Iowa State transfer and Penn State’s primary punt returner, has played a significant number of snaps in seven games, but has just eight catches on 12 targets and only three catches since Howard went out. His lack of utilization has been puzzling, even if Penn State prefers to play with multiple tight ends on the field.
Robinson primarily works out of the slot, but with Howard and Sowell both out, he’ll likely need to play outside, unless head coach Matt Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser are ready to throw true freshman Amarion Jackson into the fire.
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