Penn State coach James Franklin expects quarterback Drew Allar to practice before this week Saturday’s game against Ohio State but has not yet made the decision to start. In fact, Franklin said Monday he wouldn’t do it until Saturday noon.

“I think Drew is playing enough football to continue until game time until we make that decision,” Franklin said at his weekly news conference Monday.

Allar was injured and did not play in the second half of the match. Nittany Lions’ 28-13 win over WisconsinPushing Penn State’s record to 7-0 and setting up a top-5 matchup with the Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium. On Monday, Franklin wouldn’t offer any indication of his starting quarterback, especially considering how well bench player Beau Pribula played when replacing Allar against the Buckeyes.

The redshirt sophomore completed 11 of 13 passes and scored twice in the second half, doing exactly what Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said he would. “problems” for his defense. Franklin said he plans to practice with both quarterbacks this week, signaling to Ohio State coach Ryan Day that he needs to prepare for the Buckeys to start both quarterbacks.

“(Allar) played enough football for us to keep the timeline going until the game,” Franklin said. “From a training perspective, wherever we are on Tuesday, I think we will have to reintroduce both players on Tuesday and Wednesday. But it’s too early to tell that point, but he’s played enough football that I think that decision will stand by game time. But The reality is that both guys are going to have to be ready, and you could even make the argument that all three guys are ready (including freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer), which is pretty tough to do in a game week.”

Afterwards Saturday’s game at Camp Randall StadiumPribula has strengthened the hierarchy in Penn State’s quarterback room. “I’m the backup quarterback. Drew went down. I had to step up. I think I did my job.” Pribula told reporters:. But the dynamic of Penn State’s offense changes with Pribula making more than the occasional play; A fact that Franklin acknowledged and even nurtured. Even if Allar starts against the Buckeyes, Penn State will use that to its advantage this week.

“Defensively, it’s tough, because I think when we’re getting ready for Drew and Beau is going to have a few plays that we sprinkle in every quarter, it’s tough,” Franklin said. “But when the game plan flips and Beau comes in, it changes dramatically defensively. It’s tough, and most people aren’t built that way, right? Your quarterbacks are all similar type of guys, and ours are very different in a lot of ways.”

James Franklin addresses two other significant Penn State injuries

In addition to Allar, two key starters for Penn State left Saturday’s game against Wisconsin: linebacker Dani Dennis-Sutton and right tackle Anthony Donkoh. Franklin said junior forward Dennis-Sutton, who has been a key part of Penn State’s defensive line for two seasons, is in a similar situation to Allar. Dennis-Sutton was injured in the first half, played one game in the second half and did not return.

“Dani will have the talent to play in this game,” Franklin said. “He plays a lot of football, he’s very mature, he’s very intelligent, he’s thoughtful, he’s hard-working, he’s been in the training room for the last two days. Every time I go there he’s there too, so it’s the same thing. (As with Allar) We’ll go at match time to see where we are. If he can go, he will go.”

Franklin was less certain about Donkoh, one of Penn State’s most effective run blockers. Donkoh, a redshirt freshman, started all seven games for the Nittany Lions this season. Our other player on the right, Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci, who played a season-high 49 snaps against his former team, would start if Donkoh is unable to play.

“I don’t think Anthony is in the same category as those guys (Allar and Dennis-Sutton) in terms of the number of games he’s played,” Franklin said. “…We’ve already played with Rucci a lot, but we’re going to need both of these guys to be ready.”

Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson offers some advice

Penn State has had some major injury issues this season, Operating safety KJ Winston and starting tight end Andrew Rappleyea and several players earlier in the year, notably running back Nicholas Singleton for one game to recover from in-season injuries. Franklin received an uplifting message Sunday night. Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson It’s about how Sanderson handled injury situations while leading the Nittany Lions to the NCAA title last season.

“We had some injury trouble early and then some things got better and then you play some really good teams and it’s going to be physical, that type of stuff,” Franklin said. “I think we’ve been tested, I think we’ve proven that we can handle some of those things and we’ve proven that we have pretty good depth. But obviously when you’re playing one of the best teams and one of the most talented teams in the country, of course you want to be as healthy as possible.”

No. 3 Penn State hosts No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday at noon ET on FOX.

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