Penn State Football: Position Grades at Pitt
By Dylan Burd
Running Backs
If there was a type of environment for running backs to thrive, it was this one, with the chilly, rainy conditions of Heinz Field. The strong performance in week one from Miles Sanders certainly carried over into week two, but that can’t be said for every running back on the team.
Sanders averaged 7.4 yards per carry against Pitt, as he ran the ball for 118 yards on only 16 carries. While Sanders isn’t as big as Saquon Barkley, at 215 pounds, he certainly has power and isn’t only a speed back. Sanders also caught one ball for six yards.
Backup running back Mark Allen scored a touchdown, but had a rough day on the ground, rushing for only 12 yards on seven carries. He also had a catch for seven yards. However, it wasn’t Allen that caused the main concern at the running back position, but rather, true freshman Ricky Slade.
Slade played great in Week 1, scoring his first touchdown, but he struggled at Pitt this past weekend. Slade fumbled twice throughout the game on only four carries, so it seems pretty certain he’ll need to work on that in practice before seeing the field again. His four carries went for 13 yards.
As a whole, the rushing performance wasn’t as good as week one, but Miles Sanders was still outstanding. Expect Sanders to get more carries once conference play begins.