Penn State football is back with the long-awaited season opener today in Madison, Wisconsin against the Wisconsin Badgers. But the season will start later for a small handful of Nittany Lions players who did make the trip for undisclosed reasons.
Running back John Lovett and safety Keaton Ellis are among the players who did not make the trip to the Big Ten and season opener, according to Joe Juliano of The Philadelphia Inquirer, via Twitter. Both are expected to be key players to keep an eye on this season, so their absence from the first game of the season is noteworthy.
In addition to the absence of Lovett and Ellis, Penn State also did not bring defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon and offensive lineman Sal Wormley with them to the game.
Among those who didn't make the trip for Penn State: S Keaton Ellis, RB John Lovett, DT Hakeem Beamon, OL Sal Wormley.
— Joe Juliano (@JoeJulesinq) September 4, 2021
Penn State does not typically share injury information, and it is unlikely James Franklin will shed much insight on why these players did not make the trip.