Redshirt junior CJ Thorpe entered the 2020 college football season as a Penn State starter at right guard. His role within the Nittany Lions offensive game plan has evolved this autumn, resulting in second-team status, and lately he’s been absent from the field altogether.
Thorpe was not located with Penn State during each of its last two matchups at Rutgers and versus Michigan State. On Tuesday, head coach James Franklin referred to his absence as the result of a “medical decision”.
“We hope to have him back but we’ll see,” Franklin said on Tuesday afternoon. “Those are medical decisions that we’re not involved in, but obviously [we] are aware of.”
The 21-year-old Thorpe has appeared in 32 Penn State games since redshirting as a true freshman in 2017. His career path has featured a shift to defensive tackle (midway through the 2018 campaign) and back to the offensive line (that ensuing offseason), and ultimately led him to the starting unit last fall.
Thorpe opened the 2020 season at right guard but, in November, was supplanted by redshirt senior Will Fries, who shifted over from starting duties at right tackle to make room for redshirt freshman Caedan Wallace in that role. Redshirt sophomore Juice Scruggs, recovered from a Spring 2019 car crash, has also seen substantial action at right guard.
“We’re relying on depth and trying to make sure guys are fresh,” Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said in November regarding the outlook at right guard. “Just moving guys around and making sure that we have experience because, one snap, I’m going to need one of them. And so we’re building those repetitions and getting them experience because, at any moment, you’re going to need them. So if it’s in a crucial time, and we have to throw someone in there that hasn’t had any reps, then it’s going to be hard. So that’s kind of our mindset. Making sure we give everyone the opportunity to play.”
Thorpe last suited up for a Nov. 28 matchup at Michigan. The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Central Catholic (Pittsburgh) High School graduate is one of the highest-rated offensive line recruits signed by Penn State since the January 2014 arrival of James Franklin.
247Sports evaluated Thorpe as the No. 111 talent and No. 6 guard in 2017 prospect rankings, making him the Nittany Lions’ top-ranked offensive signee in that class, and second among that entire group behind defensive back Lamont Wade. Current starters Michal Menet (center), Rasheed Walker (left tackle) and Wallace are the only offensive linemen who carried a higher composite rating to campus when they enrolled as freshman, though incoming soon-to-be-signed 2021 recruit Landon Tengwall will also surpass that status.
Fries (second-team), Menet (third-team) and left guard Michael Miranda (second-team) were named to the coaches’ All-Big Ten team on Tuesday, while Walker was a third-team media selection.
Penn State returns to action Saturday for a 5:30 kickoff against Illinois in Beaver Stadium, and a bowl matchup may still await beyond that Big Ten finale.
