No. 13 Penn State vs. Wisconsin injury report (Friday): 2 starters remain questionable for Big Ten opener
Summary
Injury: Two Penn State starters remain questionable for Saturday's Big Ten opener against Wisconsin, according to the Big Ten's mandatory availability report.
Two Penn State starters remain questionable for Saturday's Big Ten opener against Wisconsin, according to the Big Ten's mandatory availability report. If neither player can go, it would change the shape of the Nittany Lions offense
The status of offensive lineman Brock Riker and tight end Andrew Rappleyea remains uncertain with kickoff less than 24 hours away. Both players were questionable on all three availability reports.
Riker started the first three games of the season at center, and he left the win over Buffalo after two drives. Rappleyea started two of the first three games, and he departed the win over the Bulls in the second quarter after taking a hard hit.
Penn State and Wisconsin will release one more mandatory availability report at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, which is two hours before kickoff. The players will be placed into a variety of categories indicating their availability that can be viewed below.
No. 13 Penn State (3-0) and Wisconsin (2-1) are scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. ET at Beaver Stadium. The game will be streamed on Peacock and televised on NBC Sports Network. The Nittany Lions opened as double-digit favorites over the Badgers. See the Lions247 expert predictions here.
Keep up with all of Lions247's game week updates here. You can see Wednesday's availability report here and Thursday's availability report here.
PROBABLE
S Omarion Davis
WR Ethan Black
QUESTIONABLE
OL Brock Riker
OL Dominic Rulli
TE Andrew Rappleyea
DOUBTFUL
n/a
OUT
WR Koby Howard
DE LaVar Arrington II
CB Joshua Johnson
DE Max Granville
LB Cam Smith
CB Christian Askew
CB Tyler Armstead
DE Mason Robinson
DE Dayshaun Burnett
OL Will Tompkins
TE Cooper Alexander
The only change on Friday's availability report is Black getting upgraded from questionable to probable. He missed the past two games after appearing in the season opener. He should be a factor on special teams. Davis, the other probably player, hasn't appeared in a game yet this season. He transferred in from Boston College this offseason.
If Riker can't go, redshirt freshman Vaea Ikakoula is in line to get the start at center. He relieved Riker and played the majority of the win over Buffalo, and he held his own on the interior.
Rappleyea is one of three tight ends on the Penn State roster who has started two games through three weeks along with senior Ben Brahmer and redshirt senior Gabe Burkle. If Rappleyea is out or limited, Brahmer and Burkle are capable of picking up the slack, while redshirt junior Finn Furmanek could continue his involvement with the offense.
Rulli, the third questionable player, has exclusively played special teams through the first three weeks of the season. Coach Matt Campbell said Rulli is working his way back from a preseason injury and could eventually be healthy enough to factor into the two-deep.
Here is Wisconsin's availability report:
PROBABLE
RB Abu Sama III
WR Malachi Coleman
LB Mason Posa
WR Eugene Hilton Jr.
QB Danny O'Neil
OL Kevin Heywood
OL Emerson Mandell
TE Ryan Schwendeman
P Sean West
QUESTIONABLE
RB Bryan Jackson II
DOUBTFUL
n/a
OUT
CB Cai Bates
WR Jaylon Domingeaux
OL Michael Roeske
DL Xavier Ukponu
Sama and Coleman were upgraded from questionable on Thursday night, while Mandell and Schwendeman were upgraded Friday. West is a new addition Friday night.
The Big Ten first instituted pregame availability reports before the 2024 season. The conference expanded the availability reporting process for the 2026 season to include three more availability reports during the week. Teams will submit availability reports by 8 p.m. ET three days, two days and one day before a game.
On game day, the final availability report will be released two hours before kickoff.
According to the Big Ten, midweek status designations will identify players as probable, questionable, doubtful, out or out (1st Half). On game day, the reports will include three categories: game time decision, out and out (1st Half) on gameday. If a player is not listed, he is considered available.
For visiting teams, players will be included if they were "either a) were part of the travel squad, or b) were not part of the travel squad but are (or have been) included in the two-deep on offense, defense, or special teams or otherwise regularly participate in games," according to the conference.
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Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at bydanieljtgallen@gmail.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen, Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen and Bluesky at @danieljtgallen.bsky.social.
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