Abdul Carter injury update: James Franklin provides latest on star defender following Fiesta Bowl victory

Penn State’s James Franklin joined ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast on New Year’s Day in a celebratory mood, after becoming the first team to advance to the Semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

The Nittany Lions defeated the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl, which served as the site of the Quarterfinal showdown on New Year’s Eve. However, it wasn’t exactly seamless, as star defender Abdul Carter went down with an apparent upper-body injury during the second quarter, and was unable to return.

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With that in mind, Kirk Herbstreit requested an update from the Penn State leader, and Franklin gave all the information he could at the moment.

“Well, as you know, these types of games, in this situation, you know, putting ourselves in a position to play for a national championship, Abdul is going to do everything in his power to try to get back,” Franklin said, regarding Carter’s health moving forward in the CFP. “If he’s able to go, I know he’ll go, so we’ll get him checked out and make sure everything’s okay. I just saw him walking for breakfast and he looks great. His attitude is great. But I just don’t have a ton of information for you right now. We’ll get back and get some more information, and then find out quickly. The little extra time helps too, as you know.

“Let me say one more thing about that, though. That’s another credit to Tom Allen and our defensive staff and coaches. You don’t have one of the better players in college football, and you’re still able to play defense the way we did last night.”

As Franklin alluded to, it was certainly impressive how Penn State held Boise State in check, even with Carter being injured early in the clash. However, they’re certainly going to want him back in the fold moving forward, as they continue their march towards the national championship.

Penn State will await the victor of the New Year’s Day showdown between Georgia and Notre Dame at the Caesars Superdome in the Sugar Bowl. Whoever they play, the Nittany Lions are going to hope to have Abdul Carter in the fold, that’s for sure.