Penn State corner Joey Porter Jr. could return this season following a bout of appendicitis that kept him out of the Nittany Lions’ 30-0 win over Maryland last weekend. Porter was seen on the sidelines in street clothes and otherwise appeared to be in good spirits.
“One other thing that I did wanted to mention, and every situation is a little bit unique when it comes to injuries, and I just kind of want to clear these things up,” Penn State coach James Franklin said on Tuesday. “Like I mentioned last week, Joey Porter had a non-football specific injury, and there’s been some misreporting out there, and I don’t understand how that happens. But, it did. So I will get into the specifics of this one so it clears it up. Joey had appendicitis, and that’s what happened. Obviously, I wouldn’t release any medical information without clearing it with the family first. But I don’t like the fact that there’s been some misreporting out there. I don’t really understand how that happens. But it did. So I wanted to clear it up.”
Through nine games of action Porter has recorded 26 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery and is generally expected to be selected relatively early during the 2023 NFL Draft, although as a redshirt junior Porter could theoretically return for an additional season. Asked if he is expected to return this season, Franklin expressed general optimism in Porter’s return to the field sooner rather than later. The Nittany Lions have just two regular season games remaining and a bowl remaining on the schedule.
“Yes, but that’s also why I don’t like to get into what the specific injuries are because then people pull up their medical books and research how long would that guy be out,” Franklin said. “That’s typically why I don’t get into these types of things. But yeah, we’re expecting him back.”
