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Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter is one of the top college football players in the country regardless of position. Carter, a true junior, was a consensus All-American, Bednarik Award finalist, and recorded 22 tackles for loss including 11 sacks on the year.
Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, who secured a spot in the College Football Playoff Semifinals and the Orange Bowl with a 31-14 victory over Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, they may well have to continue their quest for a national title without Carter at their disposal.
The superstar pass rusher left the game against Boise State in the first half with an apparent injury to his upper left arm. He remained on the sidelines, but did not return to the game. After game, Carter was nowhere to be found and head coach James Franklin stated only that he was dealing with an arm injury.
Abdul Carter Drops ‘Star Wars’ Reference To Address Injury Status For Orange Bowl
The following day, Franklin appeared on College GameDay and told reporters that if Carter can physically go, he’s going to do everything in his power to do so. Carter appeared to confirm that statement on Thursday with a cryptic tweet addressing the injury.
— Abdul Carter (@1NCRDB1) January 2, 2025
The tweet contained no words, only an image from the Star Wars film franchise showing the Darth Vader character inside a Bacta Tank. A Bacta Tank is a pod that a being could be placed in to that contained, well, Bacta, which is a fluid meant to increase and improve healing.
Now, as far as we know, Penn State doesn’t have a Bacta Tank just sitting around. Nor does any other team. But it’s clear that Carter is dead set on trying to heal as quickly as possible. The Orange Bowl is schedule for Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. So the Nittany Lions have 10 days off between games. But only time will tell if that’s enough to get their best player back on the field.