Penn State Set to Potentially Get Star WR Back from Injury Against Purdue

The Penn State Nittany Lions have been working their way through one of the seasons that has truly been hell. It's been injuries, bad performances, tough games, lots of criticism, and, unfortunately, a lot of losses.

One of the main reasons the season has gone off the rails is that, for the entirety of the Big Ten season, wide receiver Koby Howard has been on the shelf.

Howard was one of the offseason darlings for the Nittany Lions. He went from a freshman season last year that saw very little production to a season this year, with a new coach and quarterback, and he got off on absolutely great start.

It was 6 catches for 161 yards in week one, 3 for 68 against Temple, and then 3 for 115 and a score against Buffalo. As he galloped to the end zone for his big touchdown against Buffalo, he allegedly suffered an injury on the play. What it was was never disclosed; it caused him to be out for the last five weeks.

For the first time since that Buffalo game, Howard appeared on the injury report, but not for being "out." 

He is listed as "questionable" for this Saturday's game against Purdue, and that is absolutely a sight for sore eyes for the Nittany Lions. 

Penn State has been sorely missing their stud wide receiver, and having him back could have directly led to at least two wins, maybe even three during this four-game slide in the Big Ten. 

Having him back gives Penn State an added element to their pass game that has been sorely missed over this stretch.

Howard coming back to play for this version of the Nittany Lions also signals something much bigger for the Penn State program. In today's day and age, it is rare that adversity strikes and these kids lean into it. Howard is doing exactly that. 

It would have been a surprise to no one if he shut it down for the rest of the year and either began preparing for next season or exploring options in the transfer portal. Instead, he continued to fight through rehab to get back onto the field to compete with his teammates to finish the season.

The only thing that the Nittany Lions have left to play for is pride, and Howard is potentially going to be back for Penn State this week, but maybe even in the weeks to follow.