With Tuesday marking the first day of spring practice for Penn State football’s upcoming 2024 season, coach James Franklin offered up some thoughts regarding the position switch of Penn State linebacker turned defensive end Abdul Carter. The news was quietly announced as part of a roster update made in February, which listed Carter at his new position.
“I remember when we recruited Abdul. I thought he was a defensive end,” Franklin said of Carter, who was rated a four-star linebacker by the 247 Network at the time. “And Abdul and his dad were adamant that he was a linebacker. The reality is we just wanted [Carter] 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. He really wanted to make this move, I think for a number of reasons, and we’re excited about it.”
Big picture: Penn State is looking to replace this upcoming season the duo of Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac, two highly productive defensive ends that gave the Nittany Lions plenty of stability along the defensive front. Robinson, a potential first round choice, in particular will be a missed asset for new defensive coordinator Tom Allen. Fortunately for Penn State, Carter’s high motor and athletic abilities should prove the switch to defensive end to be a relatively seamless one, and a change that could result in him finding a more comfortable playing weight.
“We feel really good about the current room, but obviously being able to inject Abdul into that room as well I think is going to be a positive for us,” Franklin added. “He was really kind of on the bubble of struggling, I think, to keep his weight. In the linebacker room, he and Kobe [King] have been right around 250 above or below for a while. I think his body was naturally telling him he could he could make the move if he needed to and wanted to and there’s an opportunity there.
“So having depth and talent and the type of length that we wanted the defensive end position. I think this is going to be a kind of a win-win for everybody.”
The move also says a lot about Penn State’s budding linebacker room as rising sophomore Tony Rojas, returning starter Kobe King and Dominic DeLuca, alongside a host of other options, such as Keon Wylie and Tyler Elsdon, give the Nittany Lions a healthy depth chart of choices to work with. Similarly, Penn State is not short on options at defensive end either, and while Carter will need to find his footing at his new position sooner rather than later, it’s hard to imagine him not being a big part of Penn State’s plans in 2024 considering his talent, ability and explosiveness.
“I think we created some pretty good depth there,” Franklin said of Penn State’s linebackers. “And then obviously the ability to play a little bit more nickel as well. So I think this has a chance to be a win-win for everybody. I know Abdul is excited about it, and we’re looking forward to have an opportunity to work with him, but it was a big change. You know, he has never really done this before. And it is a big change. It’s not just like you make the decision to move and you snap your fingers and automatically you’re defensive end. It’s a different world the closer you get to the ball.”
Penn State will showcase Carter at defensive end for the first time on April 13 as part of the annual Blue White game.
