We now know the reason for Joey Porter Jr.’s unexpected absence against Maryland on Saturday.

Penn State football head coach James Franklin announced at his weekly press conference on Tuesday that Porter is recovering from appendicitis.

Franklin says that Joey Porter Jr. had appendicitis, which is why he was out on Saturday's game.

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 15, 2022

With his announcement, Franklin broke the team’s typical handling of player injuries. Citing his frustrations with “misreporting,” Franklin explained Porter’s ailment and prognosis instead of maintaining his usual silence.

“Obviously I wouldn’t release any medical information without clearing it with the family first,” Franklin said. “But, I don’t like the fact that there’s been some misreporting out there. I don’t really understand how that happens, so I wanted to clear it up.”

Porter was a surprise nonparticipant in Penn State’s recent home matchup with Maryland. Dressed in street clothes, Porter neither warmed up with the team nor dressed in pads.

After the game, Franklin simply described the reason for Porter’s absence as a “non-football injury situation.”

When asked about a potential return from Porter, Franklin said that he expects the cornerback to return at some point this season.

“But that’s also why I don’t like to get into what the specific injuries are,” Franklin said. “Because then people pull up their medical books and research ‘how long would that guy be out?’ That’s typically why I don’t get into these types of things.”

Based on various online health organizations’ websites, it appears the recovery time for appendix-related afflictions is highly variable. Recovery times can range anywhere from one week to six weeks, though oftentimes a normal routine can be resumed before fully healing.

This season, Porter has been one of the Nittany Lions’ most impactful defensive players. Porter has racked up 26 tackles and a double-digit total of pass breakups on the year thus far.

As a result of his consistent production, Porter has been tabbed as a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and the Jim Thorpe Award — doled out to college football’s best defensive player and best defensive back, respectively. Porter is also widely projected to be a first-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.