Penn State Defender Earns Big Ten Player of the Week Honors

After a season breakout performance against Illinois, Penn State Football defensive end Abdul Carter has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for Week 5.

Carter becomes the second Nittany Lion to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2024, joining safety KJ Winston who received the honors after Penn State’s week one win over West Virginia.

In a defensive showdown against the Illini, Carter racked up seven tackles, four tackles for a loss, two sacks, one defended pass, and a forced fumble. Carter was all over the field for Penn State Saturday night, impacting the game both as a defensive end and in his old linebacker position.

In his most impactful play Saturday, Carter effectively ended the game for Penn State, forcing a fumble on a sack against Illinois’ Luke Altmyer with 30 seconds remaining to give Penn State the ball. The strip sack was Carter’s second sack on the Fighting Illini’s final drive of the night.

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After moving to defensive end from linebacker this offseason, Carter did not record a sack in the Nittany Lions first two games of the season. In the past two games, however, Carter has recorded three sacks and a forced fumble.

In Penn State head coach James Franklin’s weekly press conference Monday, Franklin noted “You’re just going to see him become more and more impactful each week,” adding that Penn State’s coaches can put more and more on Carter’s plate each week as he becomes more comfortable in the position.

Penn State listed Abdul Carter as the team’s co-defensive player of the week with defensive tackle Zane Durant after the game this week. Carter also earned Nittany Central’s defensive game ball for Saturday’s matchup.

Carter has been long projected a first-round pick in next April’s NFL draft, ever since being selected as a true freshman All-American in 2022. Carter ranks 15^th on PFF’s Big Board for 2025 prospects so far this season.