James Franklin provides injury updates on Kaytron Allen, JB Nelson

After a slow start on the road against Northwestern, Penn State got things going in the second half and pulled away for a comfortable win. Still, James Franklin and Penn State didn’t get out of the game without any injuries.

Two notable players who were injured in the win over Northwestern were running back Kaytron Allen and offensive lineman JB Nelson. Following the game, Franklin shared what he knew about their injuries.

“So, JB is back and with us,” James Franklin said. “And Kaytron I’m not sure. I haven’t gotten the full medical report.”

It’s a positive update for Nelson while Allen is still up in the air moving forward. If Allen is out for any significant amount of time, it could be a massive loss for the Penn State offense. He’s part of the two-headed running back attack that has made Penn State so good the last two seasons.

This season, Kaytron Allen has rushed for 307 yards and two touchdowns. In Allen’s place, Trey Potts stepped up and earned himself praise from James Franklin.

“But, obviously, that leads me to talking about Trey Potts, and I think Trey Potts is a great example. Transfers in here as a senior. Didn’t get a whole lot of reps and a whole lot of burn the first couple of games and just kept a great attitude and kept working. And, when he got opportunities, he maximized them. So, it’s great to see him be able to come in and know that we feel like we got three backs that we can win within this league,” Franklin said.

“But yeah, I’ll know more, but I don’t have those details right now, and as you can imagine I don’t give them out anyway.”

Penn State is going to have a bye week next week before taking on UMass in a non-conference game where the Nittany Lions are going to be big favorites. That should give Penn State some time to get healthy before getting back to Big Ten play.

James Franklin on Penn State’s slow start

Going into the half at Northwestern, it was a tie game at 10-10. That wasn’t the start that Penn State expected and at the half, James Franklin addressed the slow start.

“We’ve just got to be more efficient on first and second down, and then, we’ve got to convert on third down, obviously,” Franklin said. “The kickoff return to start the game wasn’t ideal, as well. But we’ll handle our business. We’ll be good in the second half.”

Penn State came out and dominated the second half to give the Nittany Lions a 41-13 win.