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Key Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter’s status for Orange Bowl vs. Notre Dame in question

Singer headshotby:Mike Singer•01/05/25•

MikeTSinger

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Linebacker Abdul Carter. (Credit: Steve Manuel | Blue White Illustrated)

Notre Dame knows a thing or two about injuries along the defensive line. The Irish lost a pair of pass rushers earlier in the year when Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho both went down, and interior lineman Rylie Mills‘ final season in South Bend ended after an injury he suffered in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Indiana.

Penn State has an important injury concern of their own at defensive end heading into its matchup against the Fighting Irish Jan. 9 in the Orange Bowl and College Football Playoff semifinals. Abdul Carter, who ranks as the No. 2 overall player on ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s Big Board for the 2025 NFL Draft, doesn’t have an official designation (in terms of questionable, probable, etc.), but he picked up an injury against Boise State Dec. 31.

In the second quarter of the Fiesta Bowl against the Broncos Dec. 31, Carter exited the game with what looked to be a left arm or shoulder injury. He briefly returned to the contest before leaving it once again.

“He’s doing great, his attitude is great, his mentality has been really good,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said about Carter’s health during a press conference on Saturday. “We’ll see. I think he’s taking the right approach and mentality. It’s going to come down to how he feels and how much practice he’s able to get during the week.

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

As you may expect at this point of the year, Franklin was very coy and didn’t offer much substantial regarding his star’s player status for the Orange Bowl.

Franklin will have another press conference Wednesday — a joint one with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman — where he may give further clarification on Carter’s injury.

Abdul Carter has posted 11 sacks, 52 pressures, 22.5 tackles for loss and 85 tackles through 14 games this season.

“Carter is versatile and has plenty of experience effectively operating as an off-ball linebacker. … But the hope this season was he would make a dent … as a pass rusher off the edge. Mission accomplished,” Kiper wrote about Carter in his Big Board. “Carter has the traits to wreak havoc there. … He is instinctive and fast flying to the football.”

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