During his weekly press conference on Monday, Penn State head coach James Franklin offered brief injury updates on several injuerd Nittany Lions.
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RB Cam Wallace
The redshirt freshman tailback left late in Nittany Lions 58-0 win over Kent State with a lower leg injury that looked significant at the time of the injury. After not having an update for the media last week, Franklin started his press conference on Monday with an update on the Georgia native. "It will be a long-term injury, so he'll be out," Franklin briefly said about Wallace.
Wallace prior to the injury totaled 18 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown on the season. With his departure, the Nittany Lions' No. 3 running back is likely to be true freshman and former Rivals250 tailback Quinton Martin. The former Belle Vernon standout has seven carries for 24 yards this season but has only played in one game thus far. It's unclear if the Nittany Lions will still attempt to potentially redshirt Martin.
LB Dominic DeLuca, RG Sal Wormley, and CB Jalen Kimber
After leaving early in the Nittany Lions win over Kent State, veteran linebacker Dominic DeLuca was absent against Illinois. During the game right guard Sal Wormley would leave early with an injury while Jalen Kimber would get banged up later in the game.
Franklin provided optimistic news on the trio of veterans, though the potential timeline of their returns appears to be slightly ambiguous.
"We expect to have DeLuca, Wormley, and Kimber back. I don't have a whole lot more information than that right now. Obviously, the game was Saturday. Sunday is a jog through. Monday is an off day. We expect those guys back but I don't have that information for you either."
With DeLuca's absence, former safety DeKarri Nelson got his first look at an extensive playing time at linebacker against Illinois, earning the start. He was impressive in his performance.
"Just proud of him," Franklin said about Nelson. "The light has really gone on for him and that happens for players at different points in their career. It started for him like most of them on special teams. He was having success on special teams. That success has bled into defense and he's having success there," he added.
"The transition from safety to linebacker is something that he's embraced and trusted us on. I think he's having a lot of fun right now playing football and having success and he's been acknowledged publicly multiple times in front of his peers about how well he's doing and how proud of him we are," he said. "I think it's obvious that this is the right position for him and he's doing some really really good things."
Following Wormley's departure in the first quarter of Saturday's win over Illinois, the Nittany Lions saw left guard Vega Ioane move to right guard and play well while backup offensive lineman JB Nelson stepped in at left guard and also played at a high level for the Nittany Lions.
Following Monday's off day, the Nittany Lions will be back on the practice field on Tuesday as they begin to prepare for the UCLA Bruins who will be in Happy Valley on Saturday for a Big Ten matchup. Kickoff is set for noon and will be televised on FOX.
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