Purdue prep kept under wraps

Earlier this season, Bill O'Brien said he loves having an indoor practice facility like Holuba Hall available to him. He would simply prefer to never have to use it.

Whatever the elements are, you have to practice in those elements because you have to play in those elements, the Penn State coach said in September. Holuba Hall, it's a fantastic facility. But at the end of the day, we play in an outdoor stadium. We don't play in a dome. So it's important to be outside.

Every game we play is outdoors. … If it rains, you have to be ready to play in a rain game. If it snows, to play in a snow game. If it's hot, to play in a hot game. You've got to get used to that.

Not on the list, apparently, is how to proceed through a hurricane.

Like Luzerne County, Centre County dodged most of the wrath of Hurricane Sandy. But the forecast of high winds and heavy rain caused Penn State to cancel classes early Monday afternoon and forced the Nittany Lions to practice indoors.

O'Brien, who typically holds his weekly press conference on Tuesdays, had it pushed back to 12:45 p.m. today, further disturbing the Lions' routine headed into a weekend road trip to Purdue.

Appearing in his usual 10-minute timeslot on the Big Ten coaches teleconference Tuesday, O'Brien said that Tuesday's practice would also be held indoors.

Despite the disruption to the status quo, O'Brien said he liked what he saw from his players on Monday coming off of a loss to Ohio State.

I think these guys came back to work and were ready to go, O'Brien said. Again, we have a great senior class and they realize that they have only four opportunities left, and it starts here with Purdue. It all starts with that leadership.

I believe these guys have put that game behind them and we all have. It's time to move on and we started that process yesterday.

More concerning for the Lions this week is the status of top tight end Kyle Carter. The redshirt freshman was injured at the end of Saturday's game, taking a low hit as he came down in the end zone with a touchdown catch.

Carter had his left ankle wrapped on the sideline and then left the field before the game ended.

I think that's going to be a day-to-day thing, and I'll know better at the end of the week, O'Brien said. He seems to be doing OK.

Losing Carter would be a big blow to the Lions' passing game as he ranks second on the team in catches and receiving yards behind Allen Robinson.

Junior Matt Lehman would most likely play the F-tight end role if Carter is still limited Saturday.

Purdue, meanwhile, has some worrisome ankle issues of its own.

Star defensive tackle Kawann Short was forced to leave last week's game against Minnesota with an ankle injury, sporting a boot on the sideline. Boilermakers coach Danny Hope said he was hopeful Short would be able to return against Penn State but the team won't know for sure until Friday.

Fellow tackle Brandon Taylor is also getting treatment on an ankle this week.

Penn State's newest name in recruiting is one Lions fans will remember well.

Maryland running back Richy Anderson – son of Richie Anderson, who played at Penn State and for years in the NFL – has verbally committed to Penn State, according to multiple recruiting services.

Richy Anderson was initially committed to Maryland but was at Beaver Stadium Saturday to take in the game against the Buckeyes before switching his pledge to Penn State.

A three-star prospect, Richy Anderson is the 12th verbal commitment for the 2013 signing class and the first running back in the group. Like his father, who ranks 18th on Penn State's all-time rushing list, Richy Anderson is styled as a versatile back who doubles as a dependable receiver out of the backfield.