Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/85914
Finally healthy, Penn State to use backfield-by-committee approach SHARING THE LOAD MATT HERB | M a T T@B L U E WH I T E O N L I N E . C O M Bill Belton had a lot of time to reflect on his career as a Penn State tailback after his left ankle was injured in Sep- tember against Ohio. But because Belton's career to that point consisted of exactly 13 carries, he found himself dwelling on the Nittany Lions' loss to the Bobcats. There was nothing else to dwell on. "I only played in one game, so I was constantly replaying that game in my head, looking for things to improve on," Belton said. "That was my moti- vation – just getting back on track healthwise. It was definitely hard, having an injury like that in the open- ing game, but I wanted to get back, so I did anything to get myself [healthy]." After three weeks on the sideline, Belton returned to action last Satur- day at Illinois. Now he's got a bit more to reflect on, having finished with 16 carries for 65 yards in the Nittany Lions' 35-7 romp. He said his ankle felt fine after the game and he's eager for this week's matchup with un- beaten Northwestern, which is sur- rendering a Big Ten-low 90 rushing yards per game. Belton is expected to start on Satur- day, just as he did against Illinois, but the Nittany Lions will almost certainly continue to use the backfield-by-com- mittee approach that helped them rush for 173 yards against the Illini. Zach Zwinak was their leading rusher in that game, finishing with 100 yards, while Derek Day, Curtis Dukes and Michael Zordich also saw action. The emergence of those other play- ers, particularly Zwinak, has changed the way the coaching staff views Bel- ton's role. A converted wideout (and former high school quarterback), he was originally seen stepping into the role that Silas Redd had filled before leaving for USC – that of a versatile every-down back capable of receiving 25 touches per game. But that plan has changed. With coach Bill O'Brien BACK RUNNING Belton had 16 carries against Illinois in his first game back from an ankle injury. looking to take full advantage of the diversity of talent in the backfield, it appears as though the Nittany Lions' lead tailback might only receive about a dozen carries per game. "We have some good guys back there, and it's really competitive in practice," O'Brien said. "We ran the ball 52 times in the Illinois game, so nobody is going to really carry it 52 times for us. Nobody is going to carry it 30 times for us. It's more about that 10- to 15-carry range right now. Things change as the season goes on." Belton said he doesn't have a prob- lem sharing the workload with his fel- low runners. "We're a team," he said, "and different backs do different things. We all complement each other. So I wouldn't say it's frustrating. As long as we get the win, we're perfectly all right with that." Now that he's OK physically, Belton has been working to refine his game. One of his priorities has been ball se- curity. He fumbled deep in Ohio terri- tory in the opener and has since been O C T O B E R 3 , 2 0 1 2 11 Steve Manuel trying to make sure he's always got the ball tucked firmly away. The Nittany Lions didn't have any turnovers against Illinois, and O'Brien thought that Belton did OK in his first game back. "He made some good runs," the coach said, "and he made some runs that we need to improve on." O'Brien called Belton "a guy who can really have a big effect on the game. He's got great feet and good speed and he can catch the ball in the backfield. So as long as he stays healthy, he'll always be a part of our game plan." The Nittany Lions are still mired near the bottom of the Big Ten rush- ing statistics, ranking 10th overall with an average of 133.8 yards per game. Now that he's back in action, Belton is looking to do something about that. "Everything happens for a reason," he said, "and everything worked out, so I'm just continuing to stay in the training room, doing everything pos- sible to stay healthy, and hopefully things go well from here." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M