In a pre-COVID 19 world, PJ Mustipher’s college football career would have ended on the turf at Kinnick Stadium.
The senior defensive tackle suffered a season-ending injury in Penn State’s Week 6 loss to Iowa, and being that this game was in Week 6, it would have been past the 30% point of Penn State’s season, and thus, made Mustipher ineligible for a medical redshirt.
But with the NCAA granting pandemic-era players an extra year of eligibility, Mustipher can now come back to State College if he desires.
Mustipher talked about this on a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday afternoon and said: “I (haven’t) made the decision yet, but hoping to make it soon.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Mustipher was one of Penn State’s best players before going down. A senior leader on the defensive line, Mustipher had a 72.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus at the time his season ended. His absence was noticeable right away in the Nittany Lions’ first game after Iowa against Illinois. Without Mustipher in the middle, The Illini ran for 356 yards against Penn State in an upset win.
Mustipher already had an end-of-year meeting with coach James Franklin. Before Mustipher can play football anywhere again, he has to recover, and that recovery still does not have a timetable.
