Blue White Illustrated

Laying it on the line Donovan Smith eager to help get PSU's running game on track M AT T   H E R B To get himself amped on game day, Donovan Smith cues up some music and awaits the text from his uncle that he knows is coming, the one that he will recognize instantly from all the capital letters and exclamation points. "TODAY'S THE DAY!" it will say. "BE PHYSICAL! BE TOUGH! BE MEAN!" George Smith raised his nephew from the time Donovan was a freshman at Owings Mills High in Maryland and knows how to get him ready for game day. By kickoff, the Penn State sophomore is ready to take on all comers. Doesn't matter who the opponent may be. "They're the enemy," Smith said, "and I have to go out there and do what I have to do. " Smith started nine games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman last season and has reprised that role quite effectively this year. Following the Nittany Lions' opener against Syracuse, he was named "Boss Hog," a title that offensive line coach Mac McWhorter bestows on his top performer after every game. "Coach Mac calls us the 'Hogs, and the ' Boss Hog is [a guy who is] playing to what his expectations are," Smith said. "There's a whole bunch of stuff that goes into it in terms of physicality, domination blocks, stuff like that. No missed assignments. It's about his expectations of how you should have played and whether you reached them or exceeded them." Expectations can be tricky things, of course, and not just for individuals but for teams, too. After finishing ninth in the Big Ten in rushing offense last year, Penn State went into the 2013 season hoping to field an improved running game. But the results after two games have been mixed. The Nittany Lions rushed for only 57 yards against Syracuse, a team that surrendered 206 yards on the ground to Northwestern a week later. Penn State also struggled for the | MATT@BLUEWHITEONLINE.COM DONOVAN SMITH John Beale better part of three quarters to run the ball on Eastern Michigan, which fielded the most porous run defense in the country a year ago. The Lions finished the game with 251 rushing yards, but 166 of those yards came in the fourth quarter, by which time they had worn down their opponent. Asked about the performance of the offensive line through two games, coach Bill O'Brien said he thought that "certain individuals up front have played really well" but added that he and McWhorter are looking for more consistency. "I think we've played decent, he said. " "I don't think we've played poorly, but I know we can play better. I think the guys understand that. We hold our offensive line to a very high standard here at Penn State, and those guys know they can play better, and we expect them to play better. " Smith said the offense's inconsistent performance to date has not been due to strategic problems. "Coach O'Brien gives us the plays to run, and it's just a matter of us executing," he said, "whether it's me blocking better or receivers running better routes or us making better throws or stuff like that. It's [a matter of] us as a team executing. " The Lions will need to get those problems resolved in the next few days, because the challenge they face on Saturday night will likely be the toughest of the young season. UCF surrendered only seven points in its first two games. In their opener against Akron, the Knights amassed 10 tackles for loss. Last week against Florida International, they surrendered only 31 rushing yards on 29 carries (1.1 yards per attempt). Between them, UCF's first two opponents managed only five rushes of 10 yards or more. Smith hadn't seen much film of the Knights when he spoke to the media on Tuesday afternoon, but as always, he was braced for a challenge. "They're a tough football team, he said. "They're fast, and " they swarm to the ball. I believe it's going to be a true test out there. " INJURY REPORT It looks as though Penn State will be healthier against UCF than it was for last week's game against Eastern Michigan. OLBs Mike Hull and Ben Kline have returned to practice and are expected to play. Hull suffered a leg injury on opening day vs. Syracuse, while Kline had off-season shoulder surgery. RB Bill Belton suffered an unspecified injury but is expected to play Saturday, as is G Miles Dieffenbach, who missed part of the Eastern Michigan game with a dislocated finger. FS Ryan Keiser is questionable after suffering an apparent concussion against EMU. S E P T E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 1 3 11 BL UE W HI T EON L I N E. COM

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