James Franklin gives update on injured Penn State players who missed Week 1 against West Virginia

Penn State football head coach James Franklin took the podium for his weekly press conference earlier today. He spoke about his closing thoughts on the West Virginia matchup, the players of the game, and more. He also followed up on the injury report that was shared before kickoff. Three key players missed Saturday night’s game. They included DE Amin Vanover, CB Daequan Hardy, and DT Coziah Izzard.

James Franklin provides injury update on players who missed West Virginia game

Coach Frankin was asked if Amin Vanover, Daequan Hardy, or Coizah Izzard would be out for the year, or if they would miss a significant amount of time.

He responded with, “Yeah, so they are not out for the year….they are not out for the year.”

A sigh of relief for the Penn State fan base as the Nittany Lions have been struck by some unfortunate injury news over the past few weeks. It started when the news broke that DE Smith Vilbert would miss the entire 2023 season. Shortly after that, the news came out that Old Dominion transfer Alonzo Ford would also miss the 2023 season.

Then, last week starting LG Landon Tengwall medically retired from football. So, to hear that the three key players who missed the West Virginia game are not season-ending injuries is a relief in itself.

If it’s close, I believe they should rest all three players again this week. With a long season ahead of the Nittany Lions the last thing they need to do is rush players back from injury. Not to discredit the Delaware Blue Hens, but the Penn State football team should be able to handle business.

Cam Miller has stepped in for Daequan Hardy

When it was announced that Daequan Hardy would miss the West Virginia game, the spotlight went to Cam Miller. A sophomore cornerback whom James Franklin has a lot of respect for.

When speaking about Miller, Franklin said, “I think Cam [Miller] is really kind of that guy who is showing up a lot of different ways. He’s a guy who’s a lot like guys we had in the past like Jon Sutherland, where every single day this guy practices and meets and prepares like it’s the Super Bowl. And he’s going to maximize his time here at Penn State and have a really good career.”

It’s great to hear that the depth behind Kalen King, Johnny Dixon, and Daequan Hardy is solid. Coach Franklin has taken notice of Cam Miller and it’s a player we should all become more familiar with. As his role will expand this season.

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