Why Penn State football may be without Koby Howard vs Wisconsin

Penn State football could be missing its most electric player for its Big Ten season-opener on Saturday, Sept. 26 .

Sophomore receiver Koby Howard − one of the nation's most productive receivers so far − suffered an undisclosed injury during his dynamic 70-yard, catch-and-run touchdown play in last weekend's 55-13 victory over Buffalo , coach Matt Campbell said during his weekly Tuesday press conference.

Howard "got dinged up" on the play and is now "questionable" for Saturday evening's game against Wisconsin in Beaver Stadium .

"Right now, we probably don't know exactly where he'll be by the end of the week. ... Just trying to gauge exactly where is he as we get ourselves ready for the end of the week," Campbell said.

Junior tight end Andrew Rappleyea also is "questionable" for Wisconsin after he suffered an apparent upper-body injury vs. Buffalo , Campbell said. Rappleyea left the field soon after catching an 18-yard touchdown pass in the game.

Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions , 3-0 and ranked 14th nationally , do expect to have starting center Brock Riker back after he missed most of the Buffalo game with an injury issue, Campbell said.

Howard exited against Buffalo early in the second half after making three catches for 115 yards and adding a 20-yard touchdown run. He's averaging an astounding 28.7 yards on his 12 receptions.

Howard is ranked seventh nationally in total receiving yards (344) and average per game (114.7).

Consider that the Lions' top three receivers last season (Devonte Ross, Trebor Pena, Kyron Hudson ) combined to average only 103 yards per game in 2025.

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If Howard cannot play Saturday, the Lions figure to focus on senior wideout Chase Sowell , junior Brett Eskildsen and freshman Zay Robinson. The trio has combined for 22 catches and three scores through three games.

Unranked Wisconsin (2-1) is coming off blowout victories over Eastern Michigan and Western Illinois. The Badgers ' season began with a decisive defeat to Top 10 Notre Dame.

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.