Injury Report: Key Penn State football players still questionable after returning to practice

As Penn State football has cruised to a 2-0 start this year, it has done so without several key players on the defensive side of the ball. Nittany Lions fans have not seen junior DT Coziah Izzard, redshirt senior CB Daequan Hardy, or junior DE Amin Vanover on the field for this 2023 season. However, we caught our first glimpse of all three in full pads tonight during media availability at practice. Will this trio of Nittany Lions return to action this week against Illinois? According to James Franklin, only time will tell. 

Penn State injury report: Coziah Izzard, Daequan Hardy, and Amin Vanover still questionable after returning to practice

Penn State football has lost several key pieces of its roster to injury before the 2023 season even kicked off. Of course, Nittany Lions fans are by now familiar with Smith Vilbert and Alonzo Ford, who suffered season-ending injuries this summer, and Landon Tengwall, who had to medically retire from football. 

But several significant players have also been absent from Penn State’s snap counts through two games. While names such as Omari Evans (West Virginia) and Malik Meiga (Delaware) have been absent in one of Penn State’s games this year, Coziah Izzard, Daequan Hardy, and Amin Vanover were ruled out of both matchups.

On Wednesday evening, we saw Vanover, Hardy, and Izzard back at practice for the first time during the regular season. However, when asked if this bodes well for an appearance from the trio this Saturday, James Franklin said it was still too early to tell.

“We’ll see how it all plays out,” Franklin stated. “I’m not sure.”

DE Amin Vanover, DT Coziah Izzard and CB Daequan Hardy were all practicing in full today. Haven’t played this season, and there’s no concrete updates on them for this weekend.

“We’ll see how it all plays out” pic.twitter.com/9gOAa1Tb4N

— Max Ralph (@maxralph_) September 13, 2023

How have these Nittany Lions handled being out?

Each of these Nittany Lions have made significant contributions to Penn State football during their time in Happy Valley.

Vanover recorded 16 of his 23 career tackles last season, including 4.5 tackles for loss. Izzard burst onto the scene with 21 tackles in seven starts in 2021. He missed several games last year, and spring practice, with injury. Hardy has been a critical piece of the Penn State defense in recent years, recording three interceptions and 38 tackles in his career. He was a PFF All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2021.

Obviously, Penn State would like to see all three back on the field as soon as possible. But in the meantime, James Franklin says that the group has handled the situation well. 

“Amin, I’ve been very impressed with his maturity and growth over the last couple of years,” Franklin said. “He’s been really good. Hardy, I would say the same thing. Cozziah has had some bumps and bruises as well that have factored into that, too. But all three of them have handled it well so far.”

Penn State travels to Illinois this Saturday to open Big Ten play. Kickoff is scheduled for noon EST.

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