It wasn’t always an easy adjustment for Abdul Carter to switch to defensive end.

Although the former linebacker had 11 sacks in his first two seasons with Penn State football, Carter quickly learned that blitzing the quarterback and consistently rushing the passer from the edge isn’t the same.

Carter struggled with offside penalties early on, and it took him three weeks to record his first sack of the season. Since then, Carter has limited penalties and has grown into the edge threat James Franklin, his coaching staff, and the fans expected him to become.

“Early in the year, as he was transitioning to D-end, he had a few jump offside penalties and things like that, which all great defensive ends do. So those are limiting,” Franklin said Monday. “Now, I think people are focusing on all the positive things he’s doing. Not trying to balance the sack and the jump offsides — he’s [doing] less and less of those things and more and more of just straight-out production.”

Carter has a career-highs in sacks and tackles for loss this season. His eight sacks tie him for 13th-most in the nation and third-most in the Big Ten, and his 17.5 tackles for loss lead the conference and are second-most in the country.

He also played well in the biggest games of the season. Against then-No. 19 Illinois, Carter had two sacks, four tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. Against USC, he had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, and against No. 4 Ohio State, he had two sacks and two tackles for loss.

“When you watch the tape, the guy is impactful. Whether it’s sacks, whether it’s tackles for loss, whether it’s holding calls, whether it is obvious that they have a specific plan in how they’re trying to limit his impact. Keeping tight ends in, keeping running backs in, always sliding in his direction so there’s a double team between the tackle and the guard,” Franklin said. “He is impacting the game in a number of ways, which creates opportunities for other guys on our defensive line and within our defense and causes a lot of headaches.”

The Purdue game on Saturday was a good example of Carter’s impact on defense. He was held without a sack for the first time since the Wisconsin game but still led the Nittany Lions in tackles and tackles for loss as Penn State’s defense recorded three sacks and nine tackles for loss.

Dani Dennis-Sutton had a sack and two tackles for loss, Coziah Izzard had a sack and tackle for loss, and Amin Vanover had a sack and tackle for loss before Carter exited the game in the fourth quarter of the 49-10 blowout win.

But perhaps Carter’s most underrated trait is his ability to draw holding calls…or lack thereof.

“I’m surprised Abdul does not get more holding calls,” Franklin said after the Purdue game. “I think it’s pretty obvious that he’s an issue coming off the edge and can probably get three or four more sacks or three or four more holds per game.”

If you’ve watched Penn State at all this year, then you’ve probably seen a missed holding call or two on Carter. However, Franklin said the missed calls don’t bother Carter.

“To me, if it’s showing up on the field where he’s getting frustrated and now his effort changes because he feels like, ‘Hey, I can’t get a call here, I’m getting held every time,’ then that would be a concern,” Franklin said. “But the guy is playing with phenomenal motor.”

Carter’s play has put him in the running for several postseason awards, including the Bednarik Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Lombardi Award, and the Ronnie Lot IMPACT Trophy. With him being eligible for the NFL Draft this season, games against Minnesota and Maryland will likely be Carter’s last two regular season games at Penn State.

“He’s been great,” Franklin said. “His attitude has been great. He is coachable. He is becoming more and more of a leader every single day.”