Abdul Carter’s star continues to rise at Penn State after position switch: ‘He’s a natural pass rusher’

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — During the second half of Penn State’s annual Blue and White spring game, Abdul Carter received some pointers from Chop Robinson, a 2024 first-round draft hopeful. The two have built a friendship and competitive rivalry over the last couple of seasons, and at Penn State’s pro day last month, Carter told Robinson he would have compiled 15 sacks if he played defensive end last season.

Carter will have a chance to prove that during the 2024 season, as he will switch from linebacker, where he was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2023, to defensive end this spring.

“[Me and Chop] always had a back and forth, competing about whose the better pass rusher, who has the better get off the ball, so we like to chop it up there,” Carter said Saturday. “He just tells me, ‘Stay focused. Don’t just go out there and just play for yourself but try to make others better around you.’

“I’m always asking for tips and tricks about how to do things better and especially with move to defensive end, I can talk to him, call him anytime.”

» READ MORE: Deep defensive line, up-and-down day from Drew Allar among takeaways from Penn State spring game

Typically positional changes as significant as Carter’s come from a coaches’ directive or a mutual decision. But it was Carter who approached James Franklin and the coaching staff for the change. He saw it as an opportunity to “do what I do best, which is get after the quarterback and play fast.”

The La Salle College High product’s performance for the White team during the spring game looked largely like his first two seasons with Penn State: disruptive, explosive, relentless energy and effort. He finished with two tackles (one for loss) in his first live game reps at his new position. Carter flies to the football, and is often the first man there.

His body has changed in his adjustment. He was previously listed at 6-foot-3, 249 pounds, and told reporters on Saturday he’s currently fluctuating between 250-255. Carter is leaning on veteran players, like Amin Hanover and Dani Dennis-Sutton, who are two other players along the defensive line who should be key contributors in 2024.

“They’re always trying to help me out, give me tips on what I can do better,” Carter said. “I always ask them just to watch me and just coach me up on, little things, like my feet placement, my hand placement, timing, getting off the ball — they help me with all of it and I appreciate it.”

Carter burst on the scene as a freshman, demanding attention with third-team All-Big Ten honors after compiling 56 tackles (10½ tackles for loss), 6½ sacks, two forced fumbles, and four pass breakups in just six starts. And he was only scratching the surface of what he could be.

Prior to the 2022 Rose Bowl game against Utah, the Inquirer asked Franklin about Carter’s early contributions and emergence in a vaunted Nittany Lion defense.

» READ MORE: Penn State freshman Abdul Carter commands attention at the Rose Bowl as a star linebacker

“When you talk about size, speed and how explosive he is and burst, his burst on film is as good as I’ve seen on the defensive side the ball, there’s been one other guy that we’ve had that’s had that type of acceleration to the ballcarrier,” Franklin said in 2022.

That “one other guy” Franklin was referring to? Micah Parsons, the Dallas Cowboys’ all-pro pass rusher. Like Carter, he began his career at linebacker for Penn State, before becoming a hybrid pass rusher in the NFL.

Carter is on that track right now, though he’s now entering his third full season with the Nittany Lions. Parsons just played one full season in 2019 — an all-American season nonetheless — before opting out of the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carter said while he hasn’t talked with Parsons about switching to defensive end, he’s exchanged messages back and forth with the Cowboys star, who gives him tips on how he can improve his game.

The Penn State staff is excited about Carter’s transition, with Franklin saying postgame with the Big Ten Network “he handled it better than I thought he would … he’s ahead of schedule.”

His teammates are excited, too.

“The switch from defensive end to linebackers, I don’t know how hard it is, but I know for sure with the speed that he has, it shouldn’t be that hard, y’all probably seen that today,” Hanover said. “He’s a very natural [pass rusher]. Just be prepared to watch this season.”

One of the two players that Franklin praised in his opening statement following Saturday’s game was Philly native Jameial Lyons, the former Roman Catholic standout and four-star recruit who played sparingly as a freshman. Lyons made a splash play early in the 2023 season, delivering a devastating blow for a sack against Delaware, and carried that momentum into a special stretch during Peach Bowl practices in December.

That momentum has carried into the spring, as he finished with a sack and a handful of quarterback pressures for the Blue team, using his first-step quickness and explosiveness to win against left tackle J’ven Williams.

“I thought Lyons flashed today, I think he’s a guy that’s got a bright future,” Franklin said.

Carter and Hanover are among the people who know Lyons best. Hanover was another player Franklin was impressed with on Saturday, adding a sack and interception of his own.

» READ MORE: Jameial Lyons is up next on a Penn State defense that has plenty of Philly flavor

“[Lyons’] effort really stands out, like the plays away from, his run to the ball is probably the best I’ve seen in a long time,” Carter said. “His efforts, his athleticism, his range, his bend — he’s very athletic.”

“Jameial Lyons is gonna be a great player for us this year,” Hanover added. “He’s a more vocal now, it’s his sophomore year so now he knows it’s time to play. He has amazing effort and runs the ball every play and even when the play is going away … He’s gonna take everything that you try to put in front of him.”

Penn State’s defensive line coach is Philly native, Northeast grad, and former Nittany Lion standout Deion Barnes. Under his tutelage, the defensive line has a chance to be special next season, with the talents of Lyons, Carter, Hanover, and Dennis-Sutton.