James Franklin addresses how to offset absence of Joey Porter Jr.

Penn State managed the absence of Joey Porter Jr. spectacularly last weekend, with the star cornerback sidelined due to appendicitis prior to a game against Maryland.

The Nittany Lions beat the Terrapins 30-0, allowing just 74 yards passing in the contest. So coach James Franklin isn’t planning on any real changes defensively this week in the event Porter still isn’t back for a road trip to Rutgers.

“No, and I think last week was a really good example of that,” Franklin said. “We played a team that has traditionally thrown the ball really well. Explosive throws, high-percentage throws, they’ve been really difficult to deal with.”

It’s worth noting Penn State’s win over Maryland also included some adverse conditions for passing.

Still, it’s hard not to be impressed with the job the Nittany Lions did with Porter on the sidelines.

“Obviously Joey gets a ton of credit and he deserves that, but you look at how Kalen King has been playing. You look at how Johnny Dixon has been playing. Johnny may be one of the most improved guys in our entire program. You look at Daequan Hardy and you look at Marquis Wilson, we feel like we’ve got five corners who have played a lot of football for us and played really well. And played really well.”

Absence of Joey Porter Jr. softened by youth emerging

In addition to some of the more veteran players Franklin listed above, Penn State has also had some younger players step up during the absence of Joey Porter Jr.

Franklin singled a couple of them out, as well.

“Then we’ve got a young kid in Cam Miller, who we’re excited about who’s starting to come on for us and get more and more playing time,” Franklin said. “(Cristian) Driver‘s a guy that played on defense on Saturday. We’re also playing him on offense. He has position flexibility and we’re excited about him.”

Bottom line: No Porter no problem right now for Penn State.

The Nittany Lions would certainly love to get him back as soon as possible as they try to cement a New Year’s Six bowl berth down the stretch, but Franklin is confident everyone else can hold down the fort until then.

“We didn’t change scheme or how we play on Saturday, we were able to do it with those guys and do it at a high level,” Franklin said. “Obviously we’re excited and hoping to get Joey back as soon as possible, but we were able to execute our defense at a very high level on Saturday against a really good team with those corners that were available.”