Is Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher going to be ready for summer camp, Purdue?
Big Ten Media days are a two-day event where 42 athletes and 14 coaches dedicate thousands of words in the purist of saying nothing. Rarely is there any real news that comes out of such events. But every once and a while there’s a morsel of development from a team or player. For Penn State, this year the return of PJ Mustipher took center stage for the Nittany Lions.
Mustipher passes conditioning test, ready for Penn State fall camp
Penn State head coach James Franklin fielded a question from the assembled media to start the day and confirmed that the fifth-year defensive tackle passed his conditioning test and is ready to join the team during training camp on Aug. 1.
Later, the 6-4, 318-pound defensive tackle confirmed that he is ready to go for camp,
“I keep telling everybody on passing the conditioning test, man. So [I’m} really excited about that. I feel like I’m in a good spot strength-wise. Good spot weight wise great spot with my injury. I checked off the box of the conditioning test and checked the box everything else in the past. So now, I gotta check off the box at camp.”
Mustipher also confirmed that it was an ACL injury he suffered in Penn State’s loss to Iowa on Oct. 9. He’s a few weeks shy of the nine-month anniversary of that injury, which is typically viewed as the amount of time needed to return to play after suffering an ACL. Mustipher says he looked anywhere and everywhere for motivation and inspiration during his rehab process,
“Man, anybody who’s ever been hurt, like Adrian Peterson. [I] love his story. I don’t know if y’all know like he came back from an ACL injury and broke the record [for shortest recovery time] or something like that. Nick Bosa tore his twice. I saw he just had 15 sacks, more than the year before he was out—Jeffrey Simmons of the Titans. I really liked his game and I knew he was hurt going into the NFL. So I really used any athlete who went through the experience. I really used that, read articles, watch videos on just the mentality of what they’re doing, try to study and try to implement it into my life.”
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The Maryland native is a crucial cog up front for Penn State, who have a deep, but unproven unit at defensive tackle. Franklin spoke positively about Mustipher’s recovery this offseason and indicated that it was ahead of schedule but declined to state if his veteran defender would be ready for Week 1.
Recovery was a mental test for Mustipher
As for the conditioning test, it was clearly a significant physical and mental moment for Mustipher, which hasn’t been the case in the past.
“[The conditions test] has been really easy for me. It’s always been really easy for me. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I’ve been working out with the team doing everything everyone else has been doing, but I just didn’t know how [my knee] was going to respond. I thought about it lot more than I have in the past. It was challenging, but I overcame that challenge. I wish I could say I passed it with flying colors, but I didn’t. It was a challenge, but that’s why I’m excited. I checked off that box and got through it. It’s not going to be easy, but you get through it. That’s what I’m all about,” he said at Big Ten Media Day.
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Not only is that his next challenge, but it will alleviate the mental torture of not participating with his teammates. It’s something that wore on him during his rehabilitation.
“I hate watching. Since I’ve been hurt, that’s probably the worst part. You know, you watch, and you go home, and guys are talking about football practice, what happened, and you’re just sitting there. You kind of gotta go up to your room. I hate watching.”
Mustipher provided leadership for Penn State while rehabbing
Despite that, the Penn State defensive leader was an active participant during the offseason. Mustipher was visible at public events during practices, games, or in the offseason condition. He viewed it as his responsibility to the team.
“I have obligations, as a team leader, to be there and help those younger guys help everybody out. So I take that very seriously. So even though you know these are challenging times are challenging for me, it doesn’t mean I don’t have a responsibility to continue to lead.”
Penn State faces Purdue on Thursday, Sept. 1, in a night game against the Boilermakers. While his response to contact at camp is still on his list of boxes to check, Mustipher isn’t shying away from the challenge of facing a Big Ten opponent to kick off the season.
“I love it. Why not? Why not see which teams are made of, Week One. Why wait?”
