One of the biggest injuries Penn State had to deal with last season was the season-ending one to defensive tackle [autotag]PJ Mustipher[/autotag]. Mustipher was lost for the year in an early October road game at Iowa and the journey to get back on the field appears to have been cleared.
Speaking on Mustipher’s status at Big Ten media day on Wednesday in Indianapolis, head coach James Franklin noted Mustipher is feeling back to 100 percent both physically and mentally.
“He’s in great spirits,” Franklin said about Mustipher. “He feels both mentally and physically 100 percent back because I think that’s a big part of this, right, as well as not just the physical aspect of it, it’s the mental aspect of it as well.”
PJ Mustipher said he will be fully healthy when camp opens. Passed his conditioning test with the same results he had before the injury pic.twitter.com/ejYPZFRxc6
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) July 27, 2022
How do you know Mustipher is feeling good? According to franklin, you just have to look at his order from St. Elmo Steak House the night before Penn State’s media appearances in Indy.
“One of the most impressive things that I’ve ever seen is PJ ate one of the biggest steaks I’ve ever seen in my life, biggest piles of mashed potatoes, ate the shrimp,” Franklin recalled. “I didn’t tell him about the cocktail sauce beforehand. And then also ordered a full separate meal of two lobster tails that are massive. And he crushed it all.”
“He said he was kind of enjoying himself because he’s passed the conditioning test,” Franklin said of Mustipher’s night at St. Elmo’s. “He is celebrating the fact he’s passed the conditioning test. That’s behind him. He’ll never have to run the Penn State conditioning test again.”
That’s certainly one heck of a delicious way to celebrate.
All quotes were provided by Penn State athletics.
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