Penn State Football Injury Update: 3 Key Starters Cleared, 1 Setback at Defensive End
Penn State Football head coach James Franklin met with the media Thursday during a press conference ahead of the summer for the Nittany Lions.
In his appearance, Franklin provided health updates on a few key Penn State players ahead of the summer. Franklin announced that three players who missed spring practice, tight end Andrew Rappleyea, offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh, and linebacker Tony Rojas, were all expected to be “fully cleared” medically ahead of the Nittany Lions fall camp.
Penn State Football’s Good News on The Injury Front
For the Nittany Lions, these three expected medical clearances are fantastic news, as Donkoh and Rojas are returning starters from the College Football Playoff quarterfinal team from a year ago.
Anthony Donkoh started most of the season at right tackle before an injury sidelined him toward the end of the regular season. Transfer right tackle Nolan Rucci replaced Donkoh for the College Football playoffs for the Nittany Lions.
Linebacker Tony Rojas did not miss time last season with his upper body injury, however, the injury seemingly impacted his play throughout the entire season in 2024. After the season finished, Rojas had an undisclosed surgery to clean up the injury and was seen in a sling throughout the spring.
Tight end Andrew Rappleyea showed early promise last season starting the first game of the season for the Nittany Lions beside Tyler Warren before suffering a long-term injury in practice during week 2. Rappleyea expects to compete for playing time at tight end with the Nittany Lions looking to replace the otherworldly production of Tyler Warren next season.
In announcing the expected return of all three players, James Franklin noted that each will be able to participate in the summer programming with “modification.”
Key Contributor Dealing With Long-Term Injury
On the negative side, James Franklin announced that redshirt freshman defensive end Max Granville is sidelined with a “long-term” injury that he suffered while working out at home on a school break.
Penn State had expected Granville to step into the two-deep rotation at defensive end this season after showing promise during his true freshman season.
With Granville sidelined for a while, the Nittany Lions are now even thinner at defensive end, a position with minimal depth to begin with heading into 2025.
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