Penn State’s first road trip to open the season will see the roster without a number of players available. Penn State’s player availability report was released two hours before kicking off at West Virginia, and a total of 14 players have officially been ruled out of action.
Some of the names appearing on the list were not surprising to see. Linebacker Keon Wylie has previously been reported to be out of action for a significant period of time since the spring. Backup quarterback Jaxon Smolik was also banged up with an undisclosed injury during camp.
One of the notable players to miss the West Virginia game includes tight end Khalil Dinkins, who is expected to be a key alternative to star Tyler Warren at the position. James Franklin did note this week that Dinkins had been getting banged up leading up to the game, however.
The following players have been ruled out for Penn State in Week 1:
- [autotag]Jaxon Smolik[/autotag]
- [autotag]Khalil Dinkins[/autotag]
- [autotag]Mylachi Williams[/autotag]
- [autotag]Kari Jackson[/autotag]
- [autotag]Keon Wylie[/autotag]
- [autotag]Zuriah Fisher[/autotag]
- [autotag]Mason Robinson[/autotag]
- [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag]
- [autotag]Peter Gonzalez[/autotag]
- [autotag]Jerry Cross[/autotag]
- [autotag]Sam Siafa[/autotag]
- [autotag]Liam Andrews[/autotag]
- [autotag]De’Andre Cook[/autotag]
- [autotag]T.A. Cunningham[/autotag]
Big Ten schools are required to provide a player availability report no later than two hours prior to a scheduled kickoff. The policy was put into effect in 2023 and has seen a few conferences follow that idea in 2024.
West Virginia has not had any reported injuries this week. The Big 12 does not have the same kind of rules requiring player availability reports for its members. The SEC and MAC each enacted a similar policy beginning this season following the Big Ten’s lead.
Penn State and West Virginia kick off the season with their game at noon Eastern on Fox.
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