PSU’s Franklin: Defensive end Smith Vilbert won’t play this season

Smith Vilbert opened the year with a breakout performance on New Year’s Day.

It will be the last time the defensive end appears in a game in 2022.

“Smith will not be available this week and not be available this season, Penn State coach James Franklin told reporters in State College after practice on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions don’t have a game this weekend and Franklin did not hold his usual weekly press conference.

Vilbert has been practicing with the team but has not played in any of the Lions’ first five games, suggesting that the move is disciplinary and not injury-related. Franklin did not give further details on the situation.

The fourth-year defensive end looked to make an impact this season after he got the start for a shorthanded defense in the Outback Bowl in January. Vilbert set a Penn State record by recording three sacks in the first half against Arkansas.

Both Vilbert and defensive tackle Coziah Izzard had both been held out of games in September, but Izzard made his season debut on Saturday against Northwestern.

Penn State has managed to put together an effective rotation at defensive end in Vilbert’s absence. Maryland transfer Chop Robinson has been a highly effective pass rusher to complement veterans Adisa Isaac and Nick Tarburton. Amin Vanover has taken a sizable step forward and true freshman Dani Dennis-Sutton is also getting significant time.

Vilbert’s situation has played out very similarly to that of another defensive lineman, Hakeem Beamon, last season. And Beamon has showed there is a path back to prominence.

Beamon practiced but did not play in the opening weeks of 2021 before Franklin announced he would not be available to play for the entire season.

Neither Franklin nor Beamon went into detail about the reason for the year-long suspension, though Beamon talked in preseason camp about needing to regain the respect of his teammates and coaches.

Through five games in 2022, Beamon has the second most snaps at tackle and had his best sequence in the fourth quarter against Northwestern, batting down consecutive passes on third and fourth down to snuff out the Wildcats’ last drive.

Franklin’s most extensive comments on Vilbert came last Tuesday.

“I’d like to sit down with Smith and make sure that me and him are on the same page,” Franklin said. “… Whether it’s injuries or whatever it may be, I don’t like to make announcements here publicly before we have spoken so we’re all on the same page.

“I’ve got a ton of respect for all the players in our program and I want to be respectful of their situations, whether it’s personal, whether it’s professional, whether it’s academic, whatever it may be. I want to be respectful of those things.

“I’m really proud that Smith Vilbert is a part of our program and I’ll leave it at that for right now.”