Penn State’s offense may finally be getting closer to whole again.
There is growing optimism inside the program that at least one half of the Koby Howard-Chase Sowell receiver pairing will be back on the field Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Nittany Lions visit Washington in Seattle. Sowell, a senior who has emerged as a difference-maker, is “probable” after sitting out last week with an undisclosed injury, coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday.
Howard is still in a more uncertain spot.
“I think he’s in a really good spot,” Campbell said of Sowell, who was last seen catching 11 passes for 151 yards.
On Howard, Campbell was less definitive.
“I think Koby is still probably in the word ‘questionable,’ and I think we’ll have to kind of see again where he’s at (later this week). It’s the same rhetoric that I’ve said the last couple weeks ...”
Campbell has made it clear he does not want to put Howard back out there until he can play without limitations. Howard has missed the entire Big Ten portion of the schedule because of what appears to be a lower-body injury.
If both receivers are available, they could give a much-needed lift to an offense that had been inconsistent and mistake-prone before its long-awaited breakout in last Saturday’s win over Purdue. A big part of that turnaround came on the ground, with the offensive line and tight end groups turning in strong blocking efforts and looking fully healthy again.
Rocco Becht also turned in what may have been his best game-management performance of the season, completing 16 of 24 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers. Still, his ceiling changes if Howard and Sowell are back in the mix.
Howard had been averaging 28.7 yards on his 12 catches, giving the offense a true big-play threat every time he touched the ball as a receiver or on the move from the backfield. Campbell said Howard’s injury happened on his 70-yard catch-and-run touchdown against Buffalo on Sept.
- At that point, Howard ranked seventh nationally in both receiving yards with 344 and yards per game at 114.7.
Sowell, meanwhile, has steadily grown into the top target while Howard has been out. That rise was on full display in his 11-catch performance against Michigan, when he repeatedly beat the Wolverines’ defensive backs and looked like the offense’s go-to option.
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The uncertainty is the part that stings most for Penn State, because this is no longer a short-term absence with a clean timetable attached. Howard has been listed as questionable for upcoming games, but the available signs point to a recovery that is moving slowly, if it is moving at all. For a team that expected to have him available by now, the wait has turned into a real roster concern. [Read more 🡒]