Penn State freshmen defenders Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton were ready for early success, James Franklin says

Penn State has played numerous freshmen through three weeks. Seven first-year Nittany Lions have played in every contest so far. Three have played in two games, and a pair has seen time in one matchup.

During his weekly news conference at Beaver Stadium on Tuesday, head coach James Franklin was asked about both his redshirt plan and also to focus on two freshmen who have made headlines on defense so far. As a reminder, any member of the roster who plays in four games or less can redshirt.

“There’s going to be a strategy to it, right?” Franklin said. “There’s going to be some guys that we play early. They show that they’re going to have a significant role for us. We’re going to keep playing them. And, then there’s going to be other guys; we talked about a guy this morning that has played because maybe there’s been some bumps and bruises, and he’s actually done OK. But, we still think the best thing to do is probably to redshirt him if we can.

“So you know, your point is about the four-game rule. This young man’s already played in two games. I would have liked for one of the games to be this week. But, because of some injuries, we had to play him earlier. There is more flexibility now, based on the NCAA rule changes that help with that.”

He did not reveal who the player was. But three Penn State freshmen have played in two games: receiver Kaden Saunders, corner Cam Miller, and safety KJ Winston.

Penn State isn’t surprised by Carter’s quick start

Abdul Carter was terrific in last weekend’s Penn State win over Auburn. The linebacker had six tackles and also forced a fumble during the win. Franklin recounted his home visit with Carter as a recruit. The family’s Philadelphia-area home had a weight room right inside the front door. It’s one of many signs that the former four-star was maximizing his minutes prior to coming to campus. And, that has allowed him to have a role early on.

“I think his dad specifically, and his family. have done a really good job of raising him,” Franklin said. “One of the things that’s really helped him, obviously he’s got these physical traits that we talked about, but his dad talked about his maturity and his focus and he’s exactly right, his maturity and focus for a guy his age is is impressive. Very disciplined young man. Comes from a disciplined family.

“I would say that we’re not surprised, since we’ve been able to be around him and and see and hear his testing numbers when he arrived on campus, and then his approach in the weight room and with summer camp. And so on and so forth.”

More: James Franklin weekly press conference

Carter has 11 tackles (one for loss) and a sack, plus the forced fumble, through three weeks. Penn State will be mindful of his youth, even though he’s played well, moving forward.

“He can handle more,” Franklin said. “But I think you have to be careful. Because if not, you get greedy, right? You have a true freshman that’s having success. So, you start putting more and more on his plate, and then he doesn’t have the same type of success. Again, it’s not just learning the defense. It’s learning the offense and all the adjustments that take place when people trade or shift the tight end, or when they motion the back, or when they motion to receiver, or when they end up in unbalanced or FSL, which is formation to the sideline, or some people call it FIB, formation into the boundary, and how that affects your rules. And that’s what people are trying to do with motions and shifts and things like that. They’re trying to give the linebackers and the defense indecision.

“So for us, we want to continue to help him grow and evolve. But it’s always that fine line that you don’t do too much, that now he’s thinking more than he’s playing. And right now he’s playing pretty well. So we’ll continue to look at that, but it’s just a fine line of how much more we put on his plate.”

Dani Dennis-Sutton will see increased opportunities

Penn State was excited about what former On3 Consensus five-star defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton could do immediately. He hasn’t had as much success as some of his classmates so far. But, he’s flashed a bit while playing in all three contests so far. Expect that to continue moving forward.

“Dani, there’s a little bit less for a defensive lineman in terms of learning, but I think you guys have seen, he is physically ready and prepared to play,” Franklin said.

“I think you’ll see his opportunities, you know, continue to grow as the year goes on and his success.”