Optimism remains high that Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher will be fully healthy and back to normal in time for the Nittany Lions’ season-opener against Purdue on Sept. 1, according to Penn State coach James Franklin, who spoke on the subject of Mustipher’s health Wednesday during Big Ten media days.
“Obviously everybody that covers Penn State closely and covers the Big Ten closely understands how important PJ Mustipher has been for our program over the last four years and specifically last year,” Franklin said. “A lot of people talk about the game of football. You want to be strong up the middle, very similar to baseball and having a nose guard like PJ Mustipher to set the tone is really, really important. He’s back and excited and ready to go.”
Mustipher was limited during spring practice in March and April but was a regular staple during team workout events that the media had access to. Even in a limited capacity in the weight room, Mustipher could still be seen going through a modified workout plan as he recovered from a lower body injury suffered early in Penn State’s road loss to Iowa last season. Prior to the injury, the Maryland native was on pace for a career year, having logged 21 tackles in five games.
A heartbeat to the defense and the Nittany Lions at-large, Mustipher returning to the field of play fully healthy would be a huge boost for a relatively young team and defensive unit.
“He wished that he was ready for spring ball,” Franklin added. “He wasn’t. But the most important thing is he’s ready for camp. We went out to dinner last night. We went to have a steak at St. Elmo’s, like a lot of people — owned by a Penn State grad, I want to say. One of the most impressive things that I’ve ever seen is PJ ate one of the biggest steaks I’ve ever seen in my life, biggest piles of mashed potatoes, ate the shrimp. I didn’t tell him about the cocktail sauce beforehand. And then also ordered a full separate meal of two lobster tails that are massive. And he crushed it all.
“He said he was kind of enjoying himself because he’s passed the conditioning test. He is celebrating the fact he’s passed the conditioning test. That’s behind him. He’ll never have to run the Penn State conditioning test again. He’s in great spirits. He feels both mentally and physically 100 percent back because I think that’s a big part of this, right, as well as not just the physical aspect of it, it’s the mental aspect of it as well.”
Mustipher will join rising defensive end star Adisa Isaac, who is also returning from injury after missing all of last season, on a defensive line looking to improve its pass rush numbers in 2022. Fortunately for Franklin and defensive line coach John Scott Jr., the Nittany Lions won’t be short on options or talent in that room this season. If both Isaac and Mustipher can stay healthy alongside new faces like freshman DE Dani Dennis-Sutton and a host of options at defensive tackle, the Nittany Lions should make big strides in the defensive trenches this year.
For his part, Mustipher was one of three player representatives at Big Ten media days, joining safety Ji’Ayir Brown and quarterback Sean Clifford.
“PJ is a football guy, and he’s been an unbelievable representative of our program and our conference for five years now,” Franklin said. “… We are blessed and fortunate to have PJ back as a leader of our defense, and I think you guys will see big things out of him this year.”
