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Now that Ford is headed into his third year in the program, Seider is eager to see him take the next step in his career. "He's one of the most talented kids on our team," Seider said. "But at some point, we've got to stop talking about how tal- ented you are, and you've got to put it to- gether. You've got to put it together for a whole season." Seider pointed to Ford's performances against Ohio State, Nebraska and Rutgers last year, games in which he totaled 167 yards. But he missed the team's final two games with an injury. That opened the door for Lee and Holmes, and as Seider noted, "They took advantage of it." Now, Seider wants to see Ford stay healthy and show that the occasional bursts are indicative of his true abilities. "I still believe in that kid," he said. "I think he brings a presence to what we do offensively – running the ball, catching the ball, in the return game. I still be- lieve in his potential as a player. Now we've just got to get it. We all talk about potential. Potential is nothing if you don't tap into it. It's time for him to take the next step. This is going to be his third year. "The best thing I can tell you right now about him is that you can see the maturity taking over. He's starting to calm down, he's starting to focus in on himself. He's a better student, which allows you to be a better football player. I tell my guys all the time, if you handle the stuff off the field, it's going to make the stuff on the field easy for you because you're not going to have that many distractions, and now you can focus on doing the things you love and playing ball. That's been a message all spring, and I think the kid has really taken to it." The biggest unknown facing Penn State's backfield this year is Cain's avail- ability. James Franklin said at the start of spring practice that he was hoping to have Cain back in time to participate in at least information they can communicate in between each play from position to po- sition," Yurcich said. "They've got to get their strength, they've got to get their call, so you're trying to minimize that. You're trying to exhaust them. You're trying to wear them out and get them huffing and puffing. So it's an equalizer. You exhaust them and you eliminate communication. Those are the two main goals. Try to wear them out." With spring practice nearly complete, the Nittany Lions have taken notice of the o;ense's impact on both sides of the ball. Center Mike Miranda described it as a versatile attack that uses tempo to create a fourth-quarter advantage over opponents. Cornerback Tariq Castro- Fields said that the new system employs motion and speed to put defenses under stress. "This o;ense is innovative as far as tempo, as far as just moving guys around, just trying to give the best play- ers the ball," Castro-Fields said. "It's di;erent from last year's o;ense for sure. It's great that we're getting all these di;erent looks with formation, tempo and stu; like that. I feel like this o;ense is surely going to prepare us for the things we're going to see in the fall." The coaches have been emphasizing ball security while also trying to create explosive plays, two areas in which the o;ense endured severe de9ciencies last season. They hope to strike an e;ective balance between the run and pass and improve Penn State's yards-per-play average and scoring pro9ciency. One step removed from the process, kicker Jake Pinegar said he likes what he's seen so far. "I talked to Sean [Clif- ford] and all these other guys about the o;ense, and they said they love it, and they're ready to get a

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