Koby Howard Questionable for Penn State-Wisconsin Saturday

Penn State catches its first real injury scare of the season at the worst possible time. Koby Howard, the sophomore who's been the engine of the Nittany Lions' passing game through three weeks, is questionable for Saturday's Big Ten opener against Wisconsin, and even head coach Matt Campbell doesn't sound sure which way it's going to break.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Penn State star wide receiver Koby Howard's status is uncertain for Saturday v. Wisconsin. t.co/udChOFTkQR

Sean Fitz@SeanFitzOn3

The status of top Penn State wide receiver Koby Howard is up in the air heading into Wisconsin’s visit to Happy Valley this weekend, Matt Campbell said on Tuesday. How will the Nittany Lions pivot if he's unable to go? Intel: t.co/mQJefxLABE t.co/HQXfnm9abT

The injury happened in a weird spot, buried inside one of the best plays of Howard's season. Against Buffalo he went for 3 catches, 115 yards and a 70-yard touchdown, and got dinged up in the process. Campbell told reporters Howard "went through a couple things" in Monday's practice as the staff tries to gauge where he's at physically heading into the weekend. That's not the language of a team that's ruling him out, but it's not a clean bill of health either.

The stakes are obvious once you look at what Howard's been doing. He leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally in yards per catch at 28.7, and sits fourth in the conference with 344 receiving yards on the year. That's a big-play threat Penn State can't easily replace, especially against a Wisconsin defense in a conference opener that carries real weight for how the season shapes up.

If Howard can't go, the staff has already sketched out the contingency plan: Chase Sowell, Brett Eskildsen, Zay Robinson and Amarion Jackson all get more targets, with tight end Benjamin Brahmer factoring in as an extra outlet. Quarterback Rocco Becht sounded unbothered by the idea, saying he has "a ton of confidence in that room" if it comes to that.

None of that changes the fact that losing your leading receiver for a Big Ten opener is never the plan A. Penn State will presumably get more clarity as the week goes on and practice reps pile up, but for now Howard's status is exactly what Campbell called it — a guessing game right up until kickoff Saturday.