One of the big storylines around Penn State football’s offseason was one of the Big Ten’s best players changing positions.
Abdul Carter was a first-team all-conference linebacker and will likely be a first-round pick in next spring’s Draft. But Carter and Penn State felt that the 6-foot-3, 252-pounder would be better suited on the EDGE.
Was this move a risk? Sure.
Carter had proven himself to bean effective linebacker. Also, Penn State’s unit was already losing Curtis Jacobs, who’s now in the NFL.
But overall, Penn State and its fans were generally ecstatic about Carter pairing with Dani Dennis-Sutton— who also could go in the first round– to form an EDGE tandem that could be as good or better than any other in the country.
Coach James Franklin, Penn State and everybody else got their first look at Carter Saturday afternoon in a 34-12 win at West Virginia.
So what did the boss think?
“I thought he played really well,” Franklin told reporters at his weekly presser Monday. He was disruptive.”
Pro Football Focus wasn’t kind to Carter following his performance.
Of the 57 total Penn State players on each side that got snaps in Morgantown, PFF graded Carter the lowest at 44.1.
But for Franklin, there’s more to an evaluation than just numbers.
“We talk all the time in our building about how real football people study more than just statistics,” he said. “There’s times where he’s taking on two blockers. A couple of them I think could have been called holding where he’s splitting two blockers and they’re unable to come off on either a linebacker or another defensive lineman gets the sack or the tackle for a loss.”
But there were some problems in Carter’s game Saturday, which Franklin acknowledged.
Franklin has talked in the past about his disdain for pre-snap and post-snap penalties.
On back-to-back plays in the second half, Carter jumped off offsides (pre-snap penalty) and got called for a personal foul (post-snap).
Penn State DE Abdul Carter just had an offsides and personal foul called on him on back to back plays. Not great.
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) August 31, 2024
“We have to get cleaned up for sure,” Franklin said, “but overall, I thought his first game as a full-time defensive end was very disruptive, and he’s going to get better each week.”
Like everybody else, Franklin knows what Carter can do on the field.
No. 11 has the number worn by Penn State greats such as Arrington, Bowman and Parsons for a reason.
Carter’s combination of size and speed is equaled by few.
But what also impresses Franklin is Carter’s ability to listen and learn off the field.
“We were able to have some conversations yesterday about the penalties and just the way he approaches his maturity, his ability to take some constructive criticism and be accountable for it was really, really impressive,” Franklin said. “So I’m proud of him. I think he’s going to have a big year for us. I think he’s setting himself up for some really big things in his future as well.”
