Penn State notes: WR Chase Sowell is on track to play at Washington
· Yahoo Sports
Penn State probably will have at least one injured wide receiver on the trip later this week to Washington, coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday.
Chase Sowell, the Nittany Lions’ leading receiver, missed last week’s 31-17 win over Purdue with a leg injury. Koby Howard, who averaged almost 29 yards a catch in the first three games, has missed the last five games, also with a leg injury.
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“The word ‘probable’ is what I would use with Chase,” Campbell said. “I think he’s in a really good spot. I think Koby is still probably in the word ‘questionable,’ and I think we’ll have to see where he’s at.
“It’s the same rhetoric that I guess I’ve said the last couple weeks. When he’s ready, we’re going to try to make sure he’s on the field, but we’re going to make sure he’s ready to go.”
Sowell, a senior, has 34 receptions for 510 yards and three touchdowns. A sophomore, Howard has 12 catches for 344 yards and two TDs.
Without Sowell and Howard, Penn State tight ends Andrew Rappleyea, Ben Brahmer and Gabe Burkle combined for nine catches for 115 yards and one TD against Purdue.
“You have to find a way to create explosive plays,” offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said. “When you don’t have some of your most explosive athletes, it makes things hard. We always cater to the personnel that we have, whether it’s the running backs, the tight ends or the other wide receivers.”
Collins carries
Penn State cornerback Audavion Collins picked up the first carry of his career when he rushed for 11 yards in the fourth quarter against Purdue.
“We didn’t have a ton of guys who could be like AC,” Mouser said. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. …He’s one of the faster guys that we have. It was good to see him go out there and create an explosive play for us.”
Collins is in his second season as a starter for the Lions after he transferred from Mississippi State following the 2022 season. He leads Penn State with nine pass breakups.
“I just love what that kid’s about,” Mouser said. “He just loves football. He’s tenacious.”
Manske update
Penn State backup quarterback Alex Manske hasn’t taken a snap in Big Ten play and probably won’t the rest of the year unless one of the four remaining games gets out of hand one way or the other.
Campbell was asked Tuesday whether he will try to get him snaps to prepare for next season when starter Rocco Becht’s eligibility will have expired.
“It’s a really fair question,” Campbell said. “When the lights come on and you get the opportunity to play, what does it look like? Whether we get those opportunities to foster that, that’ll be great. That is not my intent.
“My intent is to have this team playing its best football down the stretch, and that continues to be our priority. But if those opportunities would ever exist, we’re going to do everything in our power to try to get Alex in the football game.”
Travel decision
Penn State’s traveling party for the Washington game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (TV-FS1) will ride on buses Thursday from State College to Harrisburg International Airport, where it will take a direct flight to Seattle.
The last two years, the Lions also traveled on Thursday to Los Angeles for games against USC in 2024 and UCLA in 2025.
“The time of the game was really big,” Campbell said when asked why they’re leaving Thursday. “I guess it’s a 12:35 start time there. I felt like if we got in Friday, boy, you’re going to be really pushing it.
“In our past (at Iowa State), we’ve had to go to the West Coast. If it was a day game, we tried to go on Thursday to get ourselves there, get settled in and try to, from a sleep standpoint, get on the best rhythm that we possibly can and not lose sleep.”