Penn State DE Abdul Carter Ruled ‘Game-Time Decision’ Ahead of Orange Bowl Against Notre Dame

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter has been ruled a “game-time decision” ahead of Thursday’s Orange Bowl against Notre Dame, James Franklin said on Wednesday. Carter injured his left arm in the second quarter in the second quarter of a 31-14 win over Boise State in last week’s Fiesta Bowl and did not return.

“We anticipate Abdul playing. He’s doing everything he possibly can to play,” Franklin said. “His approach has been awesome. He’s lived in the training room, but it’ll be a game-time decision and we’ll see.”

Carter, this year’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, leads the Nittany Lions with 11 sacks and 22 tackles for loss. A consensus All-American, Carter has been projected as a top-10 selection in the upcoming NFL Draft.

This week, Carter has posted multiple Star Wars clips to social media, seemingly signaling his return to action against the Fighting Irish. This was something Franklin jokingly acknowledged on Wednesday.

“He’s put a ton of cryptic messages out of social media, which you guys have probably seen those,” Franklin said. “I learned as much from those as I do from our trainers, but we are hopeful and expecting Abdul to play.”

If Carter is unavailable or limited on Thursday, the backup plan isn’t likely to change from what Penn State employed against the Broncos, defensive coordinator Tom Allen said on Tuesday. That would mean a combination of Amin Vanover, Smith Vilbert and true freshman Max Granville beside starter Dani Dennis-Sutton.

“I would say it would be fair to say that would be a good picture of what it would look like,” Allen said. “Very confident in those guys. When he went out in the second quarter, I don’t think they got a first down the rest of the half. So our guys did a great job in all those situations. So we got a lot of guys, whether they’re older, younger, everything in between.”