Penn State football star linebacker Abdul Carter is ready for year two

The second any linebacker with the Penn State football team puts on the legendary #11 jersey expectations are extremely high. The Nittany Lions are known as Linebacker University aka “LBU” for the number of linebackers they have produced in the NFL. Former Nittany Lions like LaVar Arrington, Navarro Bowman, Brandon Bell, and Micah Parsons have represented “Stix City” well during their Penn State careers. Sophomore linebacker Abdul Carter has started his career off with a bang and looks to be the next superstar wearing #11.

Penn State football star linebacker Abdul Carter is ready for year two

Thinking back on Abdul Carter’s freshman season, one can only wonder how different the Purdue game would’ve gone if Carter didn’t get ejected for the questionable targeting call. Regardless of that minor setback, Abdul Carter not only exceeded expectations during his freshman year, but he became the alpha dog of the linebacker core.

Carter ended the 2022 season with 56 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles. Those eye-popping numbers stand out more considering he only started 6 games last season. Now, it’s clear that Penn State has a special talent in the former four-star recruit from Philadelphia, PA. He has put in the work this offseason, he was listed at 233 lbs on the official Penn State football roster for his true freshman season, and now he is up to 250 lbs with a full offseason workout under his belt. He’s just scratching the surface of his potential.

Manny Diaz will properly use Carter’s skills in 2023

One of the challenges that a first-year defensive coordinator faces is assessing the skill set of each player. Especially when you didn’t recruit a player, that is where Penn State DC Manny Diaz found himself last season. He had to take fall camp and the first few games of the 2022 season to understand what talent he was working with.

As the season progressed Manny Diaz was able to put players in positions of success. It was the Auburn game last season where Abdul Carter looked to be in a perfect position. He ended the game with 6 tackles, 1 forced fumble. and 1 sack. As the season went on the stronger this defensive unit became and Carter began to take over games.

Now that Manny Diaz knows his players and the skillset each of them brings to the table, Penn State will be able to hit the ground running entering the 2023 season.

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