Abdul Carter: DE · Penn State · #11.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Abdul Carter
Wins the corner before the tackle can set. Three seasons in the Penn State defensive front to date. All-America (Consensus) in 2024 made it three straight seasons on the honors list. A game that shows it: 7 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Bowling Green — Week 2, 2024.
Play style
Bends the edge and wins with first-step quickness. Lighter frame, relentless motor.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
62 tackles. 4 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 23.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Penn State | 62 | 39 | 23.5 | 12.0 | 4 | -- |
| 2023 | Penn State | 49 | 26 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022 | Penn State | 55 | 35 | 10.5 | 6.5 | 4 | -- |
| Career | 166 | 100 | 39.5 | 23.0 | 13 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 14 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-12@ West Virginia | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 34-27vs Bowling Green | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 4 | W 56-0vs Kent State | 4 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 21-7vs No. 19 Illinois | 7 | 4 | 4.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 6 | W 27-11vs UCLA | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 33-30@ USC | 5 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 28-13@ Wisconsin | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 13-20vs No. 4 Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 11 | W 35-6vs Washington | 6 | 5 | 4.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 12 | W 49-10@ Purdue | 5 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 26-25@ Minnesota | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 44-7vs Maryland | 6 | 3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Bowl | W 38-10vs No. 12 SMU | 3 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 24-27vs No. 3 Notre Dame | 5 | 3 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 62 | 39 | 23.5 | 12.0 | — | 4 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Sack rate
19%12 sacksTFL rate
38%24 TFLHurry rate
15%9 hurriesPressure-to-sack conversion
57%12 of 21 pressures62 tackles · 23.5 for loss · 12 sacks.
3 seasons under James Franklin, all run-leaning offenses — 34-8 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 5.0 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| Road5g | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-78g | 4.4 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.5 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
41.8%
437 pass / 609 run
Plays / game
65.4
16 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
457 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2024
First team on every major selector list.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #6 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2024
Named Consensus All-American — recognized on 3+ of the 5 NCAA-recognized selector lists.
Career, closed
Gone at #3 overall.
How it ended
Three seasons at Penn State, 23 sacks, a Unanimous All-American season (2024) — drafted at #3 overall by the New York Giants.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2024)
Named to 11 first-team selectors
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2024)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2024)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2022–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under James Franklin.
Next stop · NFL
New York GiantsEntering 2nd NFL season
New York GiantsEntering 2nd NFL season
