It’s anyone’s guess whether Penn State star edge rusher Abdul Carter will line up against Notre Dame Thursday night but regardless, the ND QB is confident.
Carter was forced to miss most of Penn State’s College Football Playoff quarterfinals win last week against Boise State due to an unspecified upper-body injury and his status for the CFP semifinals — cryo-chamber be damned — is still up in the air.
Penn State would prefer to have its unanimous All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in the lineup, obviously, but Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard isn’t stressing it. He’s confident the Fighting Irish offensive line will be ready to handle the Penn State pass rush regardless of whether Carter is in the lineup or not.
“We’ve played against a lot of good defensive lines,” Leonard told NSN’s Joe Smeltzer Tuesday. “I trust my guys against anybody in the country. These are Notre Dame offensive linemen we’re talking about, you don’t recruit just anybody, it’s a privilege to play offensive line at Notre Dame and they understand the magnitude that comes with that.
“So, they’re going to be prepared for any challenge, whether he plays or not, obviously, extremely good player who has got a bright future ahead of him. But as far as our preparation and how much we’re going to worry about him playing or not, it’s something that we can’t control. And one thing we learned throughout the season, if you can’t control it, don’t worry about it. If you can’t control the opinion of others, don’t worry about it.”
Regardless of Abdul Carter’s status, Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard trusts his offensive line to go against Penn State and any other d-line in the land.
It’s gonna be a heck of a battle in the trenches Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/2SvCgBvMTR
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) January 7, 2025
Carter’s status isn’t something that either team can control right now. Either he’s cleared to play, or he’s not.
If Carter can play— by all accounts, he’s doing everything he can to be on the field, it’s a game-changer. There aren’t many — if any — players like him. He’s a big (6-foot-3, 252 pounds), fast edge who led the Big Ten with 22 tackles for loss and 11 sacks this season. His 22 tackles for loss also led the country.
Abdul Carter Update: The Latest on the Penn State Star’s Status
According to Pro Football Focus, Carter leads Penn State with 58 pressures (17 more than the next closest defender) and 37 hurries (16 more) this season. If he’s active, no matter how healthy, the Notre Dame offensive line will have to account for No. 11. He might have the fastest get-off in college football.
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Abdul Carter celebrates a sack with Dani Dennis-Sutton.
Notre Dame has produced more than its fair share of starting offensive linemen of the last decade. The likes of Joe Alt, Mike McGlinchey, Quenton Nelson, Ronnie Stanley and Zack Martin have made the jump from South Bend, Ind. to the professional ranks.
Unfortunately for Leonard, however, none will be on the field at the Orange Bowl on Thursday.
The Notre Dame offensive line has allowed 96 pressures this season, according to PFF. It’s a unit that has allowed just 18 sacks this season, the second-fewest of College Football Playoff teams, and it is a strong unit. Leonard has been under pressure on just over 31% of his 412 dropbacks this season, but that’s gone up over the last two games.
Leonard was sacked twice against Indiana and just once against Georgia, but he was pressured on 45% of his dropbacks over the last two games. That pressure didn’t impact his performance against the Hoosiers, but he had his fewest passing yards of the season in the win against Georgia.
He was effective on the ground against the Bulldogs, doing enough to secure the win for the Irish, but it wasn’t as if he was tasked with winning the game himself either. Leonard is a unique threat, someone who needs to be locked up before he can get moving.
Regardless of whether Carter is in the lineup, and as of Tuesday night, it’s truly up in the air, Penn State knows what it has to do.
Notre Dame star running back Jeremiyah Love is uncertain for the matchup. Leonard is priority No. 1, and the dual-threat quarterback has a good offensive line protecting him. If Carter is out, it just forces the collective Penn State front to step up.
Defensive ends Dani Dennis-Sutton (11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks) and Amin Vanover (five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks) will be relied upon a whole lot more if Carter is unable to go.
