Penn State won’t have Koby Howard back for the Oct. 17 trip to Michigan, according to coach Matt Campbell.
Campbell addressed Howard’s status during his press conference late Tuesday morning and made it clear the receiver is still not close enough to return. Howard’s Instagram story from Sept. 22 suggested he was aiming to be back for the Michigan game, but Campbell said that window is too soon.
“He’s not back and I still think we’re a couple weeks away from getting Koby back.”
That timeline points to Oct. 24 against Purdue as the earliest realistic return.
Howard has been missed badly. Penn State has dropped two straight, including a 21-point loss at Northwestern on Friday night, and the problems run well beyond one injured receiver. Still, the offense looks different when Howard is available.
Before the injury against Buffalo, Howard had already put together a big start to the season. He topped 100 receiving yards in two of Penn State’s first three games, the first time since 2021 that a wideout at Penn State had multiple 100-yard games in a season.
At the time he went down, Howard ranked fourth in the Big Ten in receiving yards per game at 114.7. He also led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally in yards per catch at 28.67.
Without him, the passing game has struggled to find the same punch. Against Wisconsin, Chase Sowell did his part with six catches for 70 yards, but no other receiver recorded a reception in a loss.
The Northwestern game was only a little better. Sowell again produced, finishing with five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown, while Brett Eskildsen was the next-closest target with six catches for 45 yards.
For now, Penn State will keep waiting. Howard’s return appears more likely later this month than in Ann Arbor.
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