Penn State football media day was without a notable face in the crowd on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Stadium, and it appears there is a good reason for that. Defensive end [autotag]Smith Vilbert[/autotag] was absent from the media day and he may not be seen at all this season on the football field. According to multiple reports on Sunday from Penn State media day, Vilbert will miss the 2023 season with a season-ending injury.
Audrey Snyder of The Athletic reported the news of the season-ending injury to Vilbert first via X, formerly known as Twitter. The specifics of the nature of the injury have not been reported. Lions247 later confirmed the season-ending injury status as well in a separate report.
DE Smith Vilbert is out for the season due to injury, @TheAthletic has learned.
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) August 6, 2023
The 2023 season was to be Vilbert’s redshirt senior season. The former three-star recruit in the Class of 2019 could take advantage of the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility due to the COVID season and return for a sixth year if he chooses to do so. That is a decision that will have to be made later this year.
Vilbert appeared in just one game last season with no stats to show for it. He appeared in 12 games in 2021 and recorded seven tackles with three sacks. All three sacks came in Penn State’s Outback Bowl loss to Arkansas, but he tied the school record for most sacks in a postseason bowl game, and tied the Outback Bowl record for most sacks in a game.
Vilbert was not expected to be a starter this season on the defensive line, but he was expected to work his way into the defensive line rotation under defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. Penn State will have other options with Amin Vanover and Zuriah Fisher to look forward to. Dani Dennis-Sutton will remain one of the top players in the rotation behind the starting lineup with Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac expected to start on the ends.
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