Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1445781
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 13 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M A Feature Back Can Still Deliver The Goods MATT HERB: At Ohio State last season, true freshman TreVeyon Hender- son had 181 carries, nearly as many as the team's next four leading rushers put together. The Buckeyes finished fourth in the Big Ten in yards per game (180.3) and first in yards per carry (5.5). At Michigan State, transfer Kenneth Walker III had just over half of the team's rushing attempts and 72 percent of its total rushing yards. The Spar- tans finished a respectable fifth in the Big Ten in rushing, and Walker was considered a potential Heisman Trophy finalist before getting hurt late in the year. So yes, feature backs still exist, even in a world in which everyone wants to stay fresh and injury-free in the hope of reaching the NFL. And yes, they can still be dominant players at the college level. You might recall that Penn State had one of those guys not so long ago. Back in 2015, the Nittany Lions found themselves having to decide whether to fully commit to an upstart freshman named Saquon Bark- ley or continue with the established rotation. The coaches committed to Barkley, and while the move cost PSU some depth, with Akeel Lynch and Andre Robinson transferring and Nick Scott requesting a position change, it worked out pretty well for the future No. 2 overall draft pick, and for the Nittany Lions, who went 22-5 in Barkley's last two seasons. There is, of course, a lot to be said for the committee approach if you've got more than one genuinely great running back, as was the case at Michigan this past year, or if nobody steps forward to seize the position. But if someone does step forward, by all means, give him the rock. A lot. I'm guessing that James Franklin will do just that if one of his early-enrolling freshmen — Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are already taking classes — shows the capability of putting a jolt in a lethargic PSU ground game this fall. Sometimes Committees Actually Get Things Done PHIL GROSZ: Penn State wants to be able to do a variety of things with its ground game, and it's going to be hard for any single running back to give the Nit- tany Lions everything they need. The secret to Penn State's success on offense from 2016 through 2019 was the ability of running backs like Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders, Journey Brown and Noah Cain to create explosive runs of 20 or more yards on a regular basis. In 12 of Penn State's 13 games in 2017, Barkley had at least one run of 20 or more yards. The following year, with Barkley off to the NFL, Sanders had 12 runs of 20 or more yards. And in 2019, a running back group led by Brown and Cain produced running plays of 85, 81, 56, 49, 45, 44, 38 and 35 yards. One of the main reasons why Barkley, Sanders, Brown and Cain had the suc - cess they did in those years was because of the variety that they brought to PSU's ground game. The Nittany Lions were able to put defenses under stress by stretch- ing them horizontally and vertically. That wasn't the case last fall. Penn State's running game was strictly a between- the-tackles attack. With sophomore Keyvone Lee leading the way, the Nittany Lions produced just two running plays over 30 yards. They averaged only 3.2 yards per carry as a team, with Lee and Cain combining for six rushing touchdowns. Penn State's longest rushing touchdown of the season was only seven yards. Even with a bad offensive line like Penn State had last season, that's not acceptable. For this offense to take the giant step forward that it will be looking to make next fall, Penn State will need to find a way to complement Lee's power. It will need fellow returnees Devyn Ford and Caziah Holmes, and one of its two freshman running backs, either Nick Singleton or Kaytron Allen, to provide the explosiveness that Barkley, Sanders and Brown gave the team. Lee alone isn't capable generating that type of production, which is why a rotation is going to be the best approach. Point - Counterpoint Keyvone Lee led Penn State in rushing as a sophomore, finishing with 530 yards. His average of 40.8 yards per game ranked 20th in the Big Ten. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL How Should Penn State Approach The Running Back Position In 2022 And Beyond?