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How to fix Penn State Football’s broken running game

By Chris Snyder

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Noah Cain #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs with the ball against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium on November 06, 2021 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Noah Cain #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs with the ball against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium on November 06, 2021 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Issue No. 2 – The running backs are too slow

This is one I’ve heard from a lot of people. And in no way is it actually true.

If you and I were on the field with Noah Cain, John Lovett, Keyvone Lee, Caziah Holmes, and Devyn Ford, we would probably think they were the fastest humans in the world.

Granted, Lee is a dump truck with two legs, and Cain hasn’t been the same player since 2019, but they are still incredibly quick people.

I think a better observation is that all of the running backs this past season played “slow”.

Whether it was a slow-developing play, or they were slow to make a read, or they took the handoff and immediately went east and west, or they were already greeted in the backfield with a member of the opposing defense.

Now all of these can be explained by either a bad play call, or the running backs not trusting themselves, or the offensive line not getting a push, or the offensive line getting beat. Either way it all adds up to the running backs looking slow.

And it adds up to some of the pathetic numbers the running game slapped together this season. Because I would venture to bet 90% of the running plays from this season had a combination of any of the items from above.

But I will say it again, it is not due to Penn State Football’s running backs being slow.

Is this really a problem? No

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