The injury report for tonight’s Penn State-Illinois game, scheduled to begin at 7:30 on NBC, is out.
As expected, a key player on the Penn State defense is not playing.
Dom DeLuca, a fourth-year player and second-year captain who got hurt early in last Saturday’s 56-0 win over Kent State, is listed as OUT.
DeLuca has worked his way over the past three seasons into becoming one of Penn State’s leaders on defense and special teams. Penn State named DeLuca a special teams captain before the season and gave him the “No. 0” to signify that he’s the special teams leader. He lived up to that billing, winning the team’s John Bruno Award— named for the late punter on the 1986 national champions— presented to PSU’s top special teams player.
Also listed as out for Penn State is third-string RB Cam Wallace.
Wallace, after scoring his first college touchdown last week against Kent State, had to be carted off the field late in the fourth quarter.
Wallace looked good Saturday in relief of starters Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, gaining 39 yards on nine carries (4.3 yards per carry) and scoring.
James Franklin was asked about a status update for each player during his two weekly media availabilities— the Monday presser and the post-practice scrum Wednesday— and told reporters he could not give one.
Time will tell how much time DeLuca and Wallace miss for Penn State.
No. 9 PSU is a 17.5-point favorite over No. 19, who is a surprise top 20 entrant at 4-0. No. 6 Ole Miss was a 17.5-point favorite over unranked Kentucky at home, and lost, so it can happen.
Here’s the full injury report for Penn State against Illinois.
Here’s the Penn State availability report. As expected, Dom DeLuca and Cam Wallace are out. pic.twitter.com/OzgQxqAZB9
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) September 28, 2024
