Blue White Illustrated

KEY PERSONNEL RB: Mark Allen, Bill Belton*, Cole Chiappialle, Akeel Lynch, Nick Scott, Johnathan Thomas, Deron Thompson, Zach Zwinak*; FB: Jack Haffner LOSS FB: Pat Zerbe RISING STAR It might seem as if Lynch, a redshirt sophomore, has been a rising star for his entire Penn State ca- reer to date. He fought hard during his first preseason drills in 2012 and hoped to see action that fall, but Bill O'Brien made a last-minute decision to redshirt him. The fact that O'Brien was tempted to play him as a true freshman, coupled with the glowing reviews of his per- formance on the scout team, led to high expectations for Lynch's debut in 2013 – maybe a little bit too high. He struggled with some pass protections initially and then sustained a knee injury late in the season. Lynch ended up carrying the ball in only three of Penn State's last seven games and finished the year with 60 carries for 358 yards. But as his sophomore season ap- proaches, there are strong indications that he is set to bounce back. He'll have to vie with seniors Belton and Zwinak for carries, but if he's as electrifying as some insiders have said, he'll make a bigger impact this fall than he did as a freshman. BIGGEST LOSS The Nittany Lions won't have an experienced fullback re- turning now that Zerbe has graduated. But this position has diminished in im- portance over the past decade or so – Zerbe didn't have a single carry last season – and that trend is likely to continue into 2014. Like a lot of big-time programs, Penn State has out- sourced the fullbacks' blocking respon- sibilities to the tight ends. And this sea- son, tight end is one of the deepest spots on the team. So while the Lions do re- turn a fullback in Haffner, the 5-foot-10, 210-pound redshirt sophomore will probably see action only in very specific down-and-distance situations. NUMBERS GAME Belton, Lynch and Zwinak combined to carry the ball 367 times in 2013. Penn State hasn't had that type of game experience returning in the backfield since the late 1990s, when Eric McCoo, Omar Easy and Cordell Mitchell were on the roster. OUTLOOK Unlike some other posi- tions on offense, Penn State's situation at running appears very solid. Zwinak and Belton are both proven commodi- ties, while Lynch seems to possess tremendous untapped potential. In ad- dition, the Nittany Lions are bringing in three freshman running backs in Allen, Scott and Thomas, any one of whom could make an early impact. And finally, there's Chiappialle, who looks to be a formidable backup option after his 63-yard, two-touchdown perform- ance this past April in the Blue-White Game. Whether as ball carriers, pass protectors or simply as team leaders, the members of Penn State's senior-laden backfield ap- pear to have what it takes to help this offensive engine run a little bit smoother. Simply put, everyone is back, and they're all pretty good. In fact, aside from the guy who's going to be handing them the football, this might be Penn State's biggest asset on of- fense. – T.O. >> RUNNING BACK NO NAME YR HT WT 1 Bill Belton Sr. 5-10 205 28 Zach Zwinak Sr. 6-1 233 22 Akeel Lynch So. 6-0 215 FULLBACK 32 Jack Haffner So. 5-10 210 * Starting experi- ence in 2013 >> ZACH ATTACK Last year, Zwinak fell just short of his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. Steve Manuel

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