Penn State hopeful Carter will be ready for Orange Bowl

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — It’s still too early to determine if Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter will be available when the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (13-2) play seventh-seeded Notre Dame (13-1) in their College Football Playoff semifinal, but his teammates and coaches are optimistic.

The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year suffered an unspecified upper-body injury in Penn State’s 31-14 win over third-seeded Boise State in last week’s Fiesta Bowl, leaving his status for Thursday’s Orange Bowl against the Fighting Irish uncertain.

“At this point, I don’t think there’s anything that is stopping him from playing,” Penn State coach James Franklin said Saturday. “But it’s just going to come down to how is he able to play? And we’ll see, but his mentality is great. He’s got a big smile on his face. He’s excited about this week. But it’s too early to say at this stage.”

The junior appeared to suffer a shoulder or arm injury in the first quarter against the Broncos. After exiting the game and spending some time in the sideline injury tent, Carter re-entered for a series before leaving the game for good in the second quarter.

Carter has never missed a game in his three-year career. He is second among all FBS players with 21 1/2 tackles for loss this season. Carter leads Penn State with 11 sacks and is fourth among Nittany Lions players with 63 total tackles.

“His attitude is great,” Franklin said. “His mentality has been really good. We’ll see. But I think he’s taking the right approach and mentality, and really it’s going to come down to how he feels and how much practice he’s able to get during the week.”

Franklin said Penn State began preparing for the Irish on Friday and will practice on Sunday after getting Saturday off.

While Carter and fellow starting end Dani Dennis-Sutton have been stalwarts up front all season, Penn State has found success with others, too.

Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert have factored into the defensive end rotation all season while freshman Max Granville has ramped up his workload over the last four games.

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