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O F F - S E A S O N R E P O R T Scruggs making strides in bid to resume career W hen Penn State unveiled its spring depth chart in April, it was under- stood to be entirely provisional, a doc- ument so full of guesswork and conjecture that even the coaching staff didn't know how accurate it was. The team hadn't conducted a practice session since December, after all. Given all the uncertainty, there wasn't necessarily any reason to put stock in Juice Scruggs' appearance as the backup center. Scruggs, a former four- star prospect from Ashtabula, Ohio, had seen his career derailed by a back injury he suffered in a car accident in the spring of 2019. The injury forced him to sit out spring practice that year, and while he had initially hoped to be back in action in the fall, the timetable proved to be too optimistic. He didn't play in 2019, and coming out of the team's most recent winter workouts, it was unclear to those outside the pro- gram whether he would be back on the field in the spring. But as it turns out, he would have been back. Teammates and coaches recently lauded his progress and said that he could be a factor in 2020 as the backup to Michal Menet when- ever the Nittany Lions resume practicing. "Juice is doing awesome. He did everything this winter with me," offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said. "His technique is getting better. He's starting to play on his legs again." Menet said he's seen Scruggs' dili- gent rehab work paying off. "He's been absolutely grinding every single day since it happened, trying to get back, doing everything he could, everything the trainers and doctors asked," Menet said. "You've definitely got to give him props, because he wants to play. You can tell. I don't think he's really going to skip a beat once he gets back." Added senior tackle Will Fries, "It's great to see him getting back to full form. He's confident, he's feeling good, he's healthy. I think that he would have had a big role in the spring. Leading up to this season, he's going to play a big role in our team's success. I'm really excited for him to keep grinding, keep getting bigger, stronger, learning the playbook. Just seeing him happy and confident has been really good to see." While Scruggs was listed as the sec- ond-team center on the spring depth chart, Trautwein said that the 6-foot- 3, 297-pound redshirt sophomore has the versatility to play wherever he's needed. "He has the athletic [ability] and feet to play tackle," Trautwein said. "And then he has the power in his legs to play guard. He's a guy who will play all five [positions]. Keeping him healthy is my job, and I'm going to do everything I can to make that happen and get him fundamentally sound and technically sound so he's not putting himself in any harm." Scruggs, who arrived at Penn State as part of the Class of 2018, has a tal- ent for first impressions. A member of two PIAA championship teams dur- ing his tenure at Erie (Pa.) Cathe- dral Prep, he caught Menet's eye right away at Penn State. "I was impressed with Juice from the first day he showed up on cam- pus," said the senior center. "He's a very smart player, he moves his body really well in terms of playing offen- sive line. So I've always been really ex- cited and just waiting for him to get back, because I like watching him play." –M.H. … Overall, they understand always being powerful, always being on your legs, stu9 like that. It's been a little bit of an adjust- ment." For now, Penn State's linemen are mak- ing those adjustments at home, preparing for the day, whether it's this summer or sometime later, when they'll be able to return to campus for in-person, on-8eld coaching. That's when they'll really get to know their new coach and their new of- fense. For now, though, even though the circumstances are far from ideal, players are acclimating to Trautwein's way of doing business. And they're already liking what they're seeing. "It's not a huge transition," Menet said, "because I was bought in from the first second. I just kind of thought of it as starting fresh, to be honest. No mat- ter what he was going to tell me, I was going to do, because I believe in him. I believe in what he's done and the expe- riences he's had." ■ JUICE SCRUGGS Ryan Snyder

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