Freeman, Franklin Talk Key Injuries Before Orange Bowl

The questions had to be asked, but there was little expectation that they would be asked.

In fact, when asked about the health of one of his frontline players in the lead-up to Thursday’s Capital One Orange Bowl, Penn State head coach James Franklin tried to get back at his counterpart, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.

“I wanted to ask you a few questions about the health of the Notre Dame team,” Franklin said. “I was hoping you guys would ask for more so we could figure some of that out.”

Both teams have injury issues to front linemen heading into the College Football Playoff semifinals tomorrow.

For Penn State, that status is Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Abdul Carter.

“Yeah, we expect Abdul to play,” Franklin said of the defensive end who left last week’s Fiesta Bowl with an apparent shoulder injury.

“He’s doing everything he possibly can to play. His approach has been fantastic. He’s lived in the training room. But it’s going to be a game-time decision and we’ll see.”

Franklin said Carter has approached the process of returning to the field “the right way.”

“He wants to play,” Franklin continued. “He’s been posting a ton of cryptic messages on social media, which you’ve probably seen. I learn as much from them as I do from our coaches.

“But we are hopeful and expect Abdul to play and we will see how it plays out.”

For Freeman and the Irish, the concern centers on elite running back Jeremiah Love, who has been hampered by a knee injury the past few games and had to sit out the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

It sounds like Love has been able to do more during this week’s prep than Carter, but it also sounds like the Irish don’t expect to use him as much as they’d like.

“Jeremiah has had a great week of practice,” Freeman said. “We’ve got to be smart about how much we ask him to do in practice. We’ve got to get him ready for the game. But he’s confident.

Freeman appeared to downplay the significance of Love’s injury.

“No one, I think, feels 100 percent right now,” he said. “We’re in week, I think, 15 or game 15, – 16 maybe for you.

“No one feels 100 percent. But J Love will be good to go.”

Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium subscriber: Sign up for ISD

Under Armor Green Notre Dame Fighting Irish Script School Logo All Day Raglan Pullover Hoodie