Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter is the Walter Camp defensive player of the week, Bednarik Award semifinalist
Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter is the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week. He won the honor after a dominating performance against Washington. The junior netted six tackles (four for loss), two sacks, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry over 44 snaps.
“Abdul Carter continues to make big plays in critical moments,” Lions coach James Franklin said after the Lions’ 35-6 win. “He’s a disruptive football player. He was that way when he played linebacker. He’s disruptive when he plays defensive end. I still think there has been an evolution for him there, in terms of playing the run on a consistent basis, rushing the passer on a consistent basis, getting good at his get-off. He’s just getting better. To me, that’s the exciting thing. He’s got a lot of football ahead of him. He finds a ton of different ways to disrupt the game.”
Carter was somehow not the Big Ten defensive player of the week. That honor went to UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger, as the linebacker had two interceptions and seven tackles in the Bruins’ 20-17 win over Iowa.
Penn State DE Carter is in the Big Ten, national defensive player of the year races
Carter agreed with his head coach that there is more to come. It is his first season playing defensive end. And, he has mostly dominated while lining up along the line of scrimmage. He leads Power Four conference players with 15.5 tackles for loss. His eight sacks are second in the Big Ten behind only Indiana’s Mikail Kamara, who has 9.5. Those figures have him firmly in the running to potentially be named the Big Ten defensive player of the year later this year. The Nittany Lion is also one of 20 semifinalists for the Maxwell Football Club’s Chuck Bednarik Award. It goes annually to the nation’s top defender.
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“It is definitely a week to stack on, a week to improve on,” Carter said last weekend. “We played good tonight, but even when we go back in the film room tomorrow, it’s going to be little things where we can get better at. We could have been even more dominant.”
Added Penn State linebacker Kobe King on Carter:
“Ever since he stepped on campus, he’s been dominant. He’s been showing it. That’s my guy, great player. Great person. He’s dominant. They got a game plan for him, obviously, but his demeanor, his energy, it’s infectious on the field. We definitely feed off that, they feed off me, and he’s great for us.”
