Penn State defender to miss 'significant' time with injury
Penn State football will be without one of its veteran linebackers for an extended period of time, Blue White Illustrated has learned. Keon Wylie, a rising redshirt sophomore, suffered a “significant injury” during the program’s spring practices and is accordingly out indefinitely ahead of the 2024 season.
Wylie is a versatile box linebacker who appeared in all 13 games last season. Listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, he finished with 17 tackles on the campaign. Among those stats, he also notched 5.0 tackles for a loss, had 3.0 sacks, and one quarterback hurry.
The effort came in the wake of a true freshman debut in which he was named the program’s Developmental Squad Player of the Year along with defensive end Jake Wilson. And, due to injuries late in the 2022 season, he also played in three games, appearing extensively against Rutgers and Utah in the Rose Bowl.
Emboldened by the year of development, Wylie came out of the experience eager to continue to take the next steps in his career.
“I think the coaches had a good plan for me,” Wylie said following the 2022 campaign. “Certain games I played in, I made the most out of it. The games I didn’t, I was just there supporting my teammates. I think over the season, I developed as a linebacker. And when I first got there, I put the weight on, got stronger, different things like that.”
Penn State linebacker losses
Wylie’s loss is not the only one for Penn State this offseason in the linebackers room. While the only one due to an injury, in combination with the move of Abdul Carter to the defensive line last winter, the group’s returning experience is down two key players for the 2024 season.
Given that context, Penn State head coach James Franklin’s response when first asked about the linebackers this spring offers a window into the stressors now on the program’s young player development.
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“I’ve been pleased with them. I really have,” said Franklin during a March 24 media availability. “Obviously, we got a group of guys that have played a lot of football for us. And then we got a group of guys that need to take the next step that we’re excited about.
“You think about guys like Ta’Mere (Robinson) and (Kaveion) Keys and those next young guys that need to continue to grow up and evolve and we’re seeing signs of it. So hopefully, they’ll finish out the spring on a real positive and have a really good spring game and go into the summer with some confidence. And then again, a couple of weeks into summer camp, feeling like we have depth there.”
Instead, Penn State’s linebacker depth is somewhat limited. Considering the move of Carter, Wylie’s injury, and Curtis Jacobs’ jump to the NFL, the Nittany Lions feature just Tony Rojas, Kobe King, Tyler Elsdon, Dom DeLuca as significant contributors returning from the 2023 season.
“Right now, we got to create some more depth there to feel good about,” said Franklin. “Moving Abdul to defensive end, everybody’s excited about it. But it has an impact on our linebacker room, too.”
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