Penn State will have a different plan for Abdul Carter before each game, James Franklin says
INDIANAPOLIS — Penn State moved All-Big Ten defender Abdul Carter from linebacker to defensive end with much fanfare this spring. The Philadelphia native showcased tremendous pass-rushing abilities throughout his two years in blue and white. That’s part of the reason why the move made sense. The other is that Carter, who proposed the change to the coaching staff, undoubtedly sees the way former Nittany Lion Micah Parsons is being used as a hybrid defender in the NFL who can play in space and rush the passer, and he wants to be used that way in college to prep for the pros. And, he will be, Franklin said here during his Big Ten Media Days podium speech on Wednesday.
“I think the first thing is, he’ll play both,” Franklin said inside of Lucas OIl Stadium. “We have the flexibility to play him at both positions. He’s one of the unique athletes that was playing linebacker at 250 pounds. You never know how that transition is going to go, playing in space at the linebacker position compared to moving up to the line of scrimmage and having to go against offensive tackles. He made the adjustment pretty quickly.
“At the end of the day, you’re talking about one of the most explosive, physical athletes in all of college football. We think he has a chance to make a significant impact. Week to week, we’ll decide where he’s going to have the most impact for us, whether it’s going to be at defensive end or at linebacker. This spring, he stayed mostly at defensive end to get comfortable with that. Then after that, we had a really good conversation, and he’s open to doing both. That will also put us in a position where people can’t game plan and know exactly where he’s going to be on defense.”
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Various media outlets view Carter as a preseason All-American. He also made the Big Ten’s preseason honors list, which included 12 standouts from across the newly expanded conference. Franklin previously discussed Carter’s position switch and how it was going during the Lions’ spring practice.
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“I remember when we recruited Abdul,” Franklin said on in March. “I thought he was a defensive end, and Abdul and Dad were adamant that he was a linebacker. The reality is we just wanted him in our program and knew he was going to be a really good player wherever he decided to play. But, this wasn’t really something from us. This was Abdul really wanted to make this move I think for a number of reasons. And, we’re excited about it.
“Obviously we’ve lost some defensive ends this past year that were highly productive. We feel really good about the current room. But, obviously being able to inject Abdul into that room as well is going to be a positive for us as well.”
