Penn State Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year hopeful Abdul Carter will be ready for the Orange Bowl

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – It’s still too early to tell if Penn State’s defense is over Abdul Carter will be available when sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (13-2) play with the seventh seed Notre Dame (13-1) in the semifinals of their College Football Playoff, but his teammates and coaches are optimistic.

The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year suffered an unspecified upper-body injury at Penn State 31-14 win over third seed Boise State in last week’s Fiesta Bowl, leaving his status uncertain for Thursday’s Orange Bowl against the Fighting Irish.

“At this point, I don’t think there’s anything stopping him from playing,” Penn State coach James Franklin said Saturday. “But it will all come down to how he is able to play? And we will see, but his mentality is excellent. He has a big smile on his face. He is excited about this week. But it is too early to tell at this stage.”

The junior appeared to suffer a shoulder or arm injury in the first quarter against the Broncos. After exiting the game and spending some time in the injury tent on the sideline, Carter reentered the series before leaving the game for good in the second quarter.

Carter has never missed a game in his three-year career. He is second among all FBS players with 21 1/2 tackles for loss this season. Carter leads Penn State with 11 sacks and is fourth among Nittany Lions players with 63 total tackles.

“His attitude is great,” Franklin said. “His mentality is really good. We’ll see. But I think he has the right approach and mentality, and it’s really going to come down to how he feels and how much he practices during the week.”

Franklin said Penn State began preparing for the Irish on Friday and will practice Sunday after Saturday off.

While Carter and fellow starter Dani Dennis-Sutton have been strong up front all season, Penn State has also found success with others.

Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert have factored into the defensive end rotation all season long, while freshman Max Granville has increased his workload over the last four games.