Penn State Injury Report: Week 2

Story posted September 11, 2015 in CommRadio, Sports by Brandon Pelter

Penn State’s suffered what might be their two biggest losses of the season this past Saturday. The first was a 27-10 loss to a manageable Temple team. The second was the loss of one of their defensive leaders, middle linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White.

Wartman-White, who was the second leading tackler from lastseason, will miss the remainder of the season. Wartman-White is also currently second on the team in career tackles with 108, trailing only Jordan Lucas.

This leaves the middle wide open, giving redshirt junior Gary Wooten Jr. and true sophomore Jason Cabinda the opportunity to fight for the starting nod. Cabinda, who started as the weak side linebacker last week, looks like he will stay put and Wooten will get the first crack.

“[Gary] Wooten and [Jason] Cabinda are both guys that have played and have experience,” said head coach James Franklin. “We're going to look at who is going to take control not only physically being able to make the plays but out there on the field making the calls and the checks.

Questionable for Saturday’s showdown against the University of Buffalo are junior linebacker Brandon Bell and sophomore cornerback Grant Haley. Haley sat out the first contest, but is still listed as the number one corner on the depth chart. Bell played the entire game, but appeared limp throughout the second half.

The Nittany Lions certainly have plenty of work to do and filling the role of their middle linebacker will be no easy task. The blue and white will need their linebacking core as a whole to take charge and maintain “Linebacker U.”

“We have a lot of areas that we need to get better at,” said Franklin. “But myself, the staff, the players, we're as motivated as we've ever been.”

Penn State takes on the University of Buffalo Saturday, September 12 at 12:00 pm for their home opener.

Brandon Pelter is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism and finance. To contact him, email brandon.pelter@gmail.com

Photo Credit: Centre Daily Times