Penn State coach James Franklin reveals the non-football injury situation that kept Joey Porter Jr. out against Maryland
Penn State coach James Franklin has revealed why corner Joey Porter Jr., missed last Saturday’s 30-0 win over Maryland. He did so during his opening statement at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled news conference inside the media room in State College. And, he did so in response to what he called “misreporting” about the situation with ‘JPJ’, who was seen in sweats on the sideline before kickoff.
“One other thing that I did wanted to mention, and every situation is a little bit unique when it comes to injuries, and I just kind of want to clear these things up,” Franklin said. “Like I mentioned last week, Joey Porter had a non-football specific injury, and there’s been some misreporting out there, and I don’t understand how that happens. But, it did. So I will get into the specifics of this one so it clears it up.
“Joey had appendicitis, and that’s what happened. Obviously, I wouldn’t release any medical information without clearing it with the family first. But I don’t like the fact that there’s been some misreporting out there. I don’t really understand how that happens. But it did. So I wanted to clear it up.”
Franklin also said that Porter Jr., could return this season. The Lions have two regular season games left plus a bowl game.
“Yes, but that’s also why I don’t like to get into what the specific injuries are because then people pull up their medical books and research how long would that guy be out,” Franklin said.
“That’s typically why I don’t get into these types of things. But yeah, we’re expecting him back.”
Porter Jr., is an expected early pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Through nine games, he has 26 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.
Porter Jr., absence won’t change the Penn State plan
The Penn State secondary was terrific last week, even with Porter Jr., sidelined. Franklin was asked how his absence against Rutgers and any continued absence moving forward might change the defense. He said that the program’s depth at the position will help it overcome the time that he is out.
“Last week was a really good example of that,” Franklin said. “We played a team that has traditionally thrown the ball really well. Explosive throws, high percentage throws, they’ve been really difficult to deal with. Obviously, Joey gets a ton of credit and he deserves that. But you look at how Kalen King has been playing. You look at how Johnny Dixon has been playing. Johnny may be one of the most improved guys in our entire program. You look at Daequan Hardy, and you look at Marquis Wilson; we feel like we got five corners that have played a lot of football for us and played really well.
“And then, we got a young kid and Cam Miller, who we’re excited about, who’s starting to come on for us and get more and more playing time. Cristian Driver’s a guy that played on defense on Saturday. We’re also playing him on offense. He has position flexibility. We’re excited about him.
“We didn’t change scheme or how we play on Saturday. We were able to do it with those guys and do it at a high level. Obviously, we’re excited and hoping to get Joey back as soon as possible. But, we were able to execute our defense at a very high level on Saturday against a really good team with those corners that were available.”
