Penn State interim head football coach Terry Smith said Monday that he expects three linemen to be available to play Saturday at No. 1 Ohio State.
Smith, however, was vague about the status of No. 2 quarterback Jaxon Smolik, who suffered an upper-body injury in the fourth quarter of a 25-24 loss at Iowa earlier this month.
“Jaxon Smolik, there’s no update right now,” he said. “We do know (freshman) Bekkem Kritza will be available if Jaxon isn’t around.”
Smolik saw action with starter Ethan Grunkemeyer and in place of him against Iowa. He carried four times for 3 yards and did not attempt a pass. He was injured on a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter and did not return.
If Smolik can’t play, Kritza will be the No. 2 quarterback behind Ethan Grunkemeyer. Kritza was recently cleared to return to practice after an injury.
Defensive end Zuriah Fisher suffered an apparent leg injury in the third quarter and did not return. Smith said he “should be back this week.”
Cooper Cousins continued to see limited action at guard and played a handful of snaps. Vega Ioane, in his second full season as a starting guard, did not make the trip to Iowa, missing his first game since 2022.
“Both of those guys will be available this week,” Smith said about Cousins and Ioane. “We’re looking forward to getting those guys back out there.”
Younger looks
Linebacker Alex Tatsch and cornerback Jahmir Joseph, a pair of freshmen, might see action at Ohio State.
“We’re trying to be creative,” Smith said, “to get some of the young talent on the field and give them an opportunity.”
Penn State has struggled to develop depth at linebacker, where Amare Campbell and Tony Rojas began the season as starters and Dominick DeLuca as the primary backup.
Since Rojas suffered what presumably is a season-ending injury in practice before a trip to UCLA, Campbell and DeLuca have played almost every down.
“When Tony Rojas went down, that was a big gap that we haven’t really replaced yet,” Smith said. “So we’re just searching for some answers to help the defensive line stop the run game.”
Tatsch was rated a four-star prospect coming out of Latrobe High School. He has played in one game with three tackles. Joseph was a four-star recruit from Nyack, N.Y. He has played in three games and returned an interception for a touchdown against Villanova.
Big challenge
Ohio State wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate will pose a massive challenge for the Penn State defense.
The 6-3, 223-pound Smith, a sophomore, has caught 49 passes for 602 yards and seven touchdowns. A 6-3, 195-pound junior, Tate has made 34 catches for 587 yards and six TDs.
They have more TD catches than Penn State, which has nine, and almost as many yards (1,189) as the Lions (1,298).
“This week will be an extreme challenge,” Terry Smith said. “Ohio State has a long history of great receivers. These two are the better ones on that list.
“Jeremiah Smith is as good as they come. We were hoping he would go through the sophomore slump, but obviously he’s not. He has everything. He’s big, strong, fast, runs great routes, competes. We have our hands full.”
