UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — No. 4 Penn State will be without an astonishing 24 players when it travels to Lincoln on Saturday to face Nebraska, a staggering number that includes multiple starters on both sides of the ball and virtually the entire special teams depth chart. The program released its official availability report Friday evening, confirming what had been whispered in practice all week: the Nittany Lions are in the midst of the most significant injury and illness outbreak of the James Franklin era.
The list reads like a Pro Bowl ballot gone wrong.
On offense, the absences include All-Big Ten running back Nicholas Singleton (ankle), fellow tailback Kaytron Allen (lower body), starting left tackle Drew Shelton (knee), backup tight end Andrew Rappleyea (mononucleosis), and wide receivers Kaden Saunders (hamstring), Mehki Flowers (shoulder), and Tyler Johnson (concussion protocol). Quarterback Drew Allar is officially listed as “questionable” with an illness,” though sources close to the program say he has been unable to keep food down since Wednesday and is unlikely to play.
Defensively, the situation is even more dire. Starting defensive ends Dani Dennis-Sutton and Abdul Carter are both out (Dennis-Sutton with a lingering lower-leg injury, Carter with a shoulder issue that required an MRI this week). Star safety KJ Winston, cornerbacks Cam Miller and Jon Mitchell, and linebacker Dominic DeLuca are all sidelined. Safety Zakee Wheatley and defensive tackle Coziah Izzard are listed as questionable, but neither practiced fully this week.
Perhaps most alarming is the decimation on special teams. Long-snapper Tyler Duzansky, punter Riley Thompson, and kicker Sander Sahaydak are all out with a flu-like virus that has torn through the locker room. Penn State has been forced to elevate walk-on long-snapper Rex Haynes and graduate assistant-turned-emergency punter Gabe Nwosu to the travel roster.
“We’ve never seen anything quite like this,” Franklin said Friday night in a somber press conference outside the Lasch Football Building. “We’ve had games where we were down eight, nine, ten guys. Twenty-four is uncharted territory. But the beauty of college football is next man up. The guys who are dressing Saturday have been preparing for this moment, even if they didn’t expect it to come this soon.”
The timing could not be worse. Penn State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) remains in the thick of the College Football Playoff race and can clinches a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game with a win or an Indiana loss. Nebraska (5-6, 3-5), meanwhile, is fighting for bowl eligibility in front of what is expected to be a raucous senior-day sellout at Memorial Stadium.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer is in line for his first career start if Allar cannot go. The former four-star recruit has attempted just 11 passes this season, completing 7 for 66 yards. Behind an offensive line missing Shelton and potentially guard Sal Wormley (also questionable), Grunkemeyer will rely heavily on a running game that will feature true freshmen Quinton Martin and Cam Wallace as the top two options.
Defensively, Penn State will turn to a rotation that includes true freshman linebacker Ta’Mere Robinson, who has played only 38 snaps all season, and redshirt sophomore safety Lamont Payne, who will make his first career start. Former walk-on defensive end Smith Vilbert is expected to start opposite Zuriah Fisher at defensive end.
The special teams situation has drawn the most attention nationally. Without Thompson, Sahaydak, or Duzansky, Penn State spent Thursday and Friday teaching Nwosu — a former high school quarterback who joined the staff as a student assistant in 2024 — how to hold for kicks and punt in game situations. Haynes, who has snapped in exactly one JV game in 2023, will handle long-snapping duties.
“Gabe’s got a leg,” Franklin said with a half-smile. “He was a really good high school quarterback. We’re confident he can get the ball back to the returner. Rex has been snapping to nobody in the indoor (facility) for two years waiting for this chance. This is why you stay ready.”
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, when asked about the rash of absences on Penn State’s side, offered sympathy but made it clear his team would not take its foot off the gas.
“I feel for those kids who worked all year and won’t get to play in their last regular-season game,” Rhule said. “But we’ve got our own seniors playing their last game at Memorial Stadium. We’re going to try to send them out the right way.”
The rash of injuries and illnesses began innocently enough two weeks ago after the Washington game, when several players reported flu-like symptoms. The outbreak accelerated following last Saturday’s win over Minnesota, with more than 30 players and staff members testing positive for a particularly virulent strain of influenza A. Contact tracing revealed the virus likely spread during a team-bonding bowling event the Monday after the Purdue game.
Penn State’s medical staff, in conjunction with university health officials, implemented strict masking and isolation protocols this week, but the damage was already done. The 24 players listed as unavailable Saturday represent the maximum allowed under Big Ten rules for a single game due to injury or illness.
Despite the chaos, there is a quiet confidence inside the program that the Nittany Lions can still find a way. Players who spoke to reporters Friday repeatedly used phrases like “brotherhood,” “resilience,” and “for the guys who can’t be out there.”
Senior captain and backup linebacker Curtis Jacobs, who will start in place of DeLuca, summed up the mood best.
“We lost 24 teammates this week,” Jacobs said. “But we didn’t lose our fight. Nebraska’s getting Penn State football. Just a different 11 at a time.”
Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX. For the Nittany Lions, survival is the only goal. For now, that’s enough.