PJ Mustipher, working back from injury, sets high aspirations

Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher didn’t need to wait for a doctor’s evaluation.

Just five snaps into Penn State’s tilt at Iowa last season, Mustipher crumpled to the Kinnick Stadium turf. Eventually helped off the field by team trainers, the appearance would be his last in a game for the Nittany Lions during the 2021 campaign.

“I knew. I knew right away,” Mustipher said this spring. “On the field, I knew right away it was probably over with for the season. I heard a pop that I hadn’t heard before. And I had never been hurt. It was all new to me.”

Dealing with injury

As Mustipher tells it now, the events that transpired immediately afterward were a blur.

Said by head coach James Franklin to have needed to let others within the program help him, Mustipher found himself in a completely unfamiliar set of circumstances.

A gregarious rock for Penn State football throughout his tenure, named a team captain in a landslide as voted on by teammates, Mustipher acknowledged a need to process the derailment of his season and, maybe more important, its effect on the team.

“I was numb to it; I didn’t have any emotions the first couple of weeks,” Mustipher said. “And I just kind of shrugged my shoulders to it. I wasn’t happy, sad, or mad, I was just like, ‘dang, this is real life.’ And as you continue, you start to feel all those emotions. Whether it’s watching practice, whether it’s not even being able to walk up the steps on your own, or all the struggles that come with it. It’s a lot of ups and downs, but they come and go. 

“If you allow those emotions to take over, you’re not going to be able to go in and attack the rehab, attack the strength training like you want to because you’re not looking at it in a positive light. So every day is going to be a battle, but you just got to rely on the people who support you, your teammates, the staff, your family back home, to get you through all that.”

PJ Mustipher’s path back

Seven months later, Mustipher isn’t all the way there, but he’s close.

Still too soon in the rehabilitation process to participate in Penn State’s spring practices, Mustipher was said to be “further along” than on a normal timeline for a knee injury of his variety. Personally pleased by the progress he’d already made from October through April, though, Mustipher added that he believed himself to be “starting to turn that corner” leading into summer workouts.

The end game for Mustipher is two-fold, though.

The first point of emphasis is to be ready for fall camp. Estimated to begin in late July ahead of a Sept. 1 season kickoff at Purdue, that leaves Mustipher with about 10 weeks to continue his recovery process. 

If positive mindsets lead to positive outcomes, Mustipher has that angle covered.

“I’m working and I’m doing everything I can in hopes that I’ll be… not in hopes. I’ll be ready for camp,” Mustipher said. “So right now, I’m gonna continue every day just stacking good days on good days. The goal right now is to be ready for camp.”

The second goal is centered on the performance he delivers for Penn State once he is back. 

During a season that earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors even with the injury, Mustipher’s presence was felt throughout. Crescendoing through the nonconference schedule in his performances before the showdown with the Hawkeyes, Mustipher had 21 tackles, 3.0 TFL, and a sack. 

Next steps for PJ Mustipher

Believing himself capable of more, Mustipher is determined to bring it to fruition.

“I’m trying to come back better than I was last year,” Mustipher said. “That’s the only goal we got. We don’t put all the hours in, the treatment, the lifting, and all that other stuff to just get back on the field. 

“Yeah, we can’t wait till we do… I’m going to be excited, but the goal is not to be the same. The goal is not to be less. It is to be better than I was. So that’s my motivation right now. That’s why I’m going so hard.”

Mustipher is equally determined to help mold that same mindset for his teammates. 

Saying Penn State has “done a lot of losing” the past two seasons, the converse needs to transpire in 2022. Believing this to be a team “ready to win,” the missteps of the past could change with the right approach.

“It’s personal,” Mustipher said. “It’s personal every year. But, we’re ready to take that next step and put those past few seasons behind us and get back to that winning.”