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Once the shock wore off, Nyeem Wartman-White bounced up on his own. He started jogging. High-stepping to test his knee.&#8220;To be honest, myself, the doctors and Nyeem &#8212; we thought at first he was just more or less scared that something had happened,&#8221; Penn State coach James Franklin said of his senior linebacker. &#8220;He hopped up. He felt good. He jogged around. We thought he was OK.&#8220;It didn&#8217;t play out that way.&#8221;Franklin confirmed Tuesday that Wartman-White will once again miss the season because of an injury. Though Franklin didn&#8217;t provide details, the Valley View grad appeared to hurt his right knee when it gave out on him during a Temple punt on Saturday.It will be third time in his career that a knee injury suffered on special teams has cost him a season.As a true freshman in 2012, he suffered a sprain on a kickoff against Virginia. Though he could have returned later in the season, then-coach Bill O&#8217;Brien and his staff elected to hold him out the rest of the way to preserve a redshirt.Last season it was a torn ACL in his left knee on punt coverage in the opener at Temple and didn&#8217;t return until this September against Kent State.On Saturday, the Nittany Lions were in their &#8220;punt-safe,&#8221; meaning the base defense stayed on the field for a Temple fourth-and-1 near midfield. This time it was Wartman-White&#8217;s right knee that buckled, drawing silence across Beaver Stadium.Though it looked to be less serious than the 2015 injury, Wartman-White eventually went back into the locker room and returned with crutches and a brace on his leg.A trip to the doctors, accompanied by fellow linebacker Brandon Bell and coaches, delivered the bad news.&#8220;I feel for Nyeem because he&#8217;s had two years in a row now where he&#8217;s missed the season and has worked really, really hard and has had an unbelievable attitude from a leadership standpoint as well,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;So that&#8217;s always difficult, obviously, in a position where we are already thin as it is.&#8220;He handled the setback last year really well. This year he was working through his physical and mental confidence. It was growing and growing each week. &#8230; Now he&#8217;s got another setback in front of him.&#8221;There is a possibility that the fifth-year senior&#8217;s Penn State career is not over. Even before this latest injury, Wartman-White said he would consider applying for a medical hardship waiver for a sixth year of eligibility.Over the summer, though, Wartman-White admitted that &#8220;six years is a long time.&#8221;The last Penn State player to be granted the waiver from the NCAA was tackle Garry Gilliam, who missed multiple seasons with an injury and an ensuing infection. Gilliam, however, ultimately elected to not take the sixth year and ended up catching on with the Seattle Seahawks, where he is now a starter.Regardless, Wartman-White has a few months to make a decision about what to do next.&#8220;We&#8217;ll see how everything plays out,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;We&#8217;ll get him healthy. He already graduated, which is awesome. We&#8217;ll see what the future holds.&#8221;When discussing the 2015 injury over the summer, Wartman-White said he was determined not to sulk and that he wanted to be involved with helping out teammates with film work.That could certainly help the Lions out again this year as the other two starting linebackers, Bell and Jason Cabinda, have also been injured. As it is, the Lions could potentially head into their Big Ten opener at Michigan on Saturday with walk-on Brandon Smith starting in between true sophomores Manny Bowen and Jake Cooper.&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen him in the training room and he&#8217;s had a smile on his face,&#8221; Smith said Tuesday. &#8220;Nyeem&#8217;s a great guy. He&#8217;s gonna keep working hard, stay committed and be part of this team. He&#8217;s a selfless guy. He&#8217;s gonna keep being around and be a vocal leader on this team.&#8221;The coaches have already made one change, moving Koa Farmer from safety to strong-side linebacker to add some badly needed depth at the position.In all, Wartman-White has been one of the most respected players on the team as one of the very few left who committed to Joe Paterno&#8217;s staff and stayed on board through the Jerry Sandusky scandal and the NCAA sanctions that allowed players to transfer without penalty.&#8220;I love Nyeem,&#8221; said guard Derek Dowrey, another fifth-year senior who went through those same trials. &#8220;I have ever since I met him in recruiting when I was still in high school.&#8220;I personally can&#8217;t imagine what he&#8217;s going through. But I know if there is somebody who can get through this, get past it, it will be him. I mean, he&#8217;s an amazing athlete, an amazing competitor, a great person, a great teammate.&#8220;I just wish him the best. But I know he doesn&#8217;t need that. He&#8217;s gonna go get it done.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Knee injury will sideline LB for 2016 season</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Derek Levarsedlevarse@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>UP NEXTPenn State at Michigan3:30 p.m., Saturday, ABC</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</shirttailMeta></div>

Penn State loses Nyeem Wartman-White for the season