Penn State football is preparing for the 2024 season where the Nittany Lions will return the bulk of talent on both sides of the ball from the 2023 season.
On defense, the Lions are losing pass rushers Chop Robinson and Alisa Issac to the NFL Draft, but there are still players on the defensive side of the ball who can get to the QB, while thriving against the run.
Abdul Carter is the most notable candidate — and in 2024 — the freak athlete will make the transition from linebacker to defensive end for the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The most interesting, and likely inevitable, position switch of Penn State’s offseason occurred on defense, where Carter, the two-time All-Big Ten linebacker, shifted to defensive end. At 6-3, 250 pounds, Carter already has the body of a college edge rusher.
In fact, Penn State football coach James Franklin said he recruited Carter out of Philadelphia’s La Salle College High as a defensive end. But when Carter and his father said they preferred linebacker, Franklin and his former defensive coordinators (Brent Pry and Manny Diaz) agreed.
This should unlock the pass-rush potential he introduced as a freshman in 2022, when he led the team in sacks. His former teammates, including two defensive ends headed to the NFL, called the change obvious for the 2024 Penn State football team.
“I feel like that’s a good move for him because he’s so natural as a pass-rusher and as an athlete,” Chop Robinson said at Pro Day. “When he gets with [defensive line coach] Deion [Barnes] and they work on the little details, he will be unstoppable.’
Now, Franklin and company have to cross their fingers they will have Carter available in 2024.
Penn State Football Star Abdul Carter Charged After Assaulting Tow Truck Driver
In a shocking development on Wednesday, it was announced Carter was charged with assaulting a tow truck driver after an incident in March.
Abdul J. Carter, 20, is accused of forcefully pulling the driver from a truck and throwing him to the ground during the incident. The Nittany Lion defensive end was charged on Wednesday with a second-degree misdemeanor count of simple assault and a summary count of harassment.
“We are aware of the charges against Abdul Carter. These alleged actions do not reflect the values and standards of our program and will be addressed,” Penn State Athletics wrote in a statement provided to StateCollege.com. “We will not comment any further as this is an ongoing legal matter.”
Carter’s Dodge Challenger was parked without a permit in the lot of the Aspen State College apartment complex on Squirrel Drive just after midnight on March 16, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by State College police. When a driver from Halfmoon Valley Towing attempted to tow the vehicle, the alarm went off, causing Carter to come outside.
The Penn State football star went back inside to get money to pay a drop fee, but, he told police, he wanted to be sure his car wasn’t being stolen, and when he returned he questioned the driver about his authority to tow. The driver informed him that Halfmoon has a contract to enforce parking violations at the complex and that he would need to provide a name and address for the vehicle to be released.
After Carter refused to provide the information, police wrote, the driver resumed the process of towing the car. As the driver returned to the truck, Carter told him he was going to call 911 and used his forearm to block the driver from getting inside, according to the affidavit.
The driver, police wrote, grabbed a metal bar from the truck and yelled at Carter to back away, which he did. When the driver got inside, witness video showed that Carter wrapped his arms around the man’s abdomen and forcefully pulled multiple times to break his grip from the steering wheel, according to the affidavit.
Both men then jogged back to the truck, where the driver picked up from the ground a cell phone he believed might be his. Carter grabbed the man again and “is seen on video controlling the victim with one arm over the top of the victim’s shoulder while his other hand is holding his sweatshirt,” police wrote. The driver tossed the phone when he realized it wasn’t his, at which point Carter took him to the ground and held him down, according to the affidavit.
Video showed the Penn State football star allowing the driver to get up but held him back again when the man tried to return to the truck, police wrote. Carter released the man when a witness said she called 911, but continued to block the driver’s side door, according to the affidavit.
The driver went to the hospital for soreness the next day and an X-ray revealed he had a non-displaced rib fracture
Carter was charged Wednesday via summons. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 22.
An attorney listed for Carter did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday afternoon.