Penn State coach James Franklin updated the status of two injured defenders after practice Wednesday evening.
Franklin said Monday that Penn State would be getting veteran defensive end Zuriah Fisher back soon and confirmed Wednesday that Fisher is expected to play Saturday, albeit on a snap count.
Additionally, Penn State is expected to have Zion Tracy back, per James Franklin.
Tracy found a home last season, becoming Penn State’s starting NICKEL as a sophomore. He was listed as questionable on the Big Ten’s mandatory injury report ahead of Saturday’s opener against Nevada and didn’t end up playing.
Penn State will be happy to have both back.
BIG FISH
Fisher being back, even in a limited capacity, would certainly add experience to a defensive line that doesn’t have much of it.
Fisher (Year 6), Alonzo Ford Jr. (Year 5), Dani Dennis-Sutton (Year 4) and Zane Durant (Year 4) all have plenty of college football experience.
The guys behind them? Not so much.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.At defensive end, the guy who started in place of Fisher Saturday, Jaylen Harvey, is a redshirt freshman. The other guys behind Fisher– Chaz Coleman (true freshman), Yvan Kemajou (true freshman) and Mylachi Williams (redshirt freshman) are all unproven commodities.
Although Fisher hasn’t played as much as he’d have liked due to injuries that cost him all of last year and most of 2022, he is certainly one of the elder statesmen of the defensive line room.
THE RETURN OF ZION
Although Woseley did a fine job filling in for Tracy— he tied for Penn State’s defensive lead with 34 snaps— Penn State will be happy to have Tracy back.
Last year, Tracy appeared in all 16 of Penn State’s games, starting four and establishing himself as Penn State’s top slot corner. He ended the year with 35 tackles (30 solo), a sack, two tackles for loss and two picks, the other one talking place in the team’s Fiesta Bowl/College Football Playoff quarterfinal win over Boise State.
Tracy adds to a deep secondary that features its top corner in A.J. Harris, and one of winter workout hero Elliot Washington or veteran Audavion Collins.There’s no reason to think a healthy Tracy would lose his spot in the slot. There’s question is: how much better will he be?
Penn State takes on FIU at noon Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
