Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/420483
pects to bulk back up to his pre-injury weight of 255. He also expects to be stronger than he was before – both phys- ically and mentally. "I'm trying to keep my mind focused on something positive," he said. "I'm not losing a year. I have three years of eligibility le;, which seems like an eternity to me. I'm going to be here my 8;h year, and people are going to be like, 'Breneman has been here for like 10 years! When will this guy leave?!' "It's de8nitely been a di:erent kind of fall than what I'm used to, but I think I'm handling it pretty well." ■ medical sta: who got me to this point, and my con8dence is building every day." Die:enbach saw his 8rst game action late in the 8rst quarter vs. the Hoosiers and was taken out a;er two series. In all, he was on the 8eld for only 10 snaps. "We were able to get his feet wet," head coach James Franklin said. "We probably could have played him a little bit more, but we'd rather be cautious on the front end than overly aggres- sive." Die:enbach said there was no "hur- dle" that he had to over- come in order to be cleared to play. Rather, it was "a decision that myself, my family, the team doctors and the athletic trainers made. They were overseeing practice, and they just realized, hey, you're ready to go. Let's get you in there." The coaches' goal going into the Indi- ana game was to play Die:enbach for a series or two during each half. The Nittany Lions have been strug- gling all season on the o:ensive line, and ranked last in the Big Ten in rush- ing through their 8rst 10 games while surrendering a league-worst 37 sacks. Making matters even worse, tackle Donovan Smith was injured against Ohio State and sat out the Lions' next two games. Given all the upheaval, the coaches were thrilled to have one of their key players back in action in Bloomington, albeit only brie9y. They were even happier to see him play a much bigger role against Temple, a game in which Penn State rushed for a season-high 254 yards. The return was exciting for Die:en- bach, too. Simply suiting up and taking the 8eld with his teammates was a gratifying experience. "It means a lot running out of the tunnel with those guys and my teammates," he said. "That is something I've tremendous- ly missed, and I don't take for granted being out there with your guys and battling through a game and having fun. That's as fun as it gets." His teammates were thrilled to have him back, too. Redshirt freshman tackle Andrew Nelson called it "an awe- some experience" playing next to Dief- fenbach for the 8rst time in his career. "That was something that was very special to me, because Miles is a guy that I really look up to," Nelson said. "He's taught me a lot about football and what it means to be a student-ath- lete." RETURN GAME Dieffen- bach made his season debut in Penn State's 13-7 victory at Indi- ana. Photo by Steve Manuel