James Franklin: True freshman linebacker could potentially see significant role in primetime

Penn State football will play its biggest game of the season so far on Saturday night. Where James Franklin has asked the Nittany Lion faithful to bring “White Out…Energy.” However, Penn State might not be at full strength on defense with linebacker Dom DeLuca dealing with an injury. While Franklin did not rule anyone out for Saturday night, he did share that Anthony Speca could see a significant role against Illinois.

James Franklin rarely gets into much detail surrounding injuries to his team during the season. Wednesday night following practice was no different. Currently, the Penn State football to is waiting to see what will the status of Cam Wallace, Dom DeLuca, and Abdul Carter be against Illinois. While it sounds like we won’t know until the availability report is released two hours before kickoff, Franklin did indicate that true freshman Anthony Speca could see an increased role this weekend.

“We’ll plan on using [Anthony] Speca this week,” Franklin said Wednesday night following practice. “If we’re in that situation he would get green-lighted for this game. Not necessarily for the season at this point. He was a guy who was able to play last week and we’re preparing him this week as a guy who’s ready to go as well.”

Who is Anthony Speca?

© Grace Carella / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

Well, if you don’t follow Penn State football recruiting or you have a hard time keeping the true freshmen straight, let’s review some background on Anthony Speca. He was a three-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. Speca attended Catholic Central High School. A place that James Franklin has high praise for.

“We can’t get enough Pittsburgh Central Catholic guys,” Franklin told the media on Wednesday evening.

Speca was rated as the No. 9 prospect in Pennsylvania and the No. 44 linebacker in the country according to the On3 Industry Rankings. So, how is Speca up next if DeLuca cannot go Saturday night? Against Kent State, he logged his first snaps of the season and finished the day with a team-high five tackles.

Speca didn’t start the game, he entered as the game went on against the Golden Flashes. But he made that kind of impression with the Penn State staff during practices and that game action to insert himself into a potentially large role against Illinois on Saturday night.

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