Penn State football: James Franklin updates status of multiple injured Nittany Lions

James Franklin and Penn State football enter the second bye week of the season as one of the few remaining programs with an unblemished record, but the Nittany Lions’ depth chart has seen more than its fair share of battering through the first six games of 2024. However, the Nittany Lions could see Kaden Saunders and Keon Wylie, both of whom have missed substantial time, return for the season’s closing stretch.

Looked to as a potential contributor in the wide receiver room this offseason, Saunders’ progress was slowed due to bumps and bruises sustained during fall camp. While appearing in the Nittany Lions’ first four games, the redshirt sophomore was limited to returning punts.

“I think he did a nice job in the most important part of the job, which is catching,” Franklin said  Tuesday of Zion Tracy’s performance returning punts in the absence of Kaden Saunders against USC. “I thought there was one that he let get to the ground that he needs to catch. I do think as he gets more comfortable and more confident doing that he’ll have the ability to make some more plays for us.

“But as you know, we’ve been kind of working through that all year long, and we’ve been down this road before. So, hopefully, we’ll be getting Kaden back at some point. Hopefully, Zion continues to grow, which I think he will. Hopefully, we’ll get Jake Spencer back as well – another guy that’s caught punts in college games before. Then there’s other guys that are working on it too.”

A redshirt senior, Spencer has appeared in three games this season and returned punts in relief of Saunders in the second half of the Kent State game. Neither Jake Spencer nor Kaden Saunders were on the Penn State football travel roster last weekend at USC.

Penn State linebacker missing “significant” time also hopeful to return, says James Franklin

Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

On the other side of the ball, James Franklin had an encouraging update on linebacker Keon Wylie. In May, it was reported that the redshirt sophomore would miss an extended period with a significant injury.

Keon Wylie was spotted at practice for the first time in months on Tuesday, albeit without equipment.

“Yeah, he’s a guy we’re hoping to get back at some point,” Franklin said when asked about Wylie’s status.

The Nittany Lions have had to manage a whole host of other health-related issues since the start of the season, including a long-term injury to standout safety KJ Winston, a series of bumps and bruises along the offensive front, and a situation that has limited the availability of star running back Nicholas Singleton.

The road ahead isn’t getting any easier for the No. 3 team in the land, as Penn State football will take a primetime trip to Madison, Wisconsin, next week before hosting Ohio State on November 2.

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