Penn State Football: The Latest on Bill Belton, Curtis Dukes and Akeel Lynch

A quick recap from Thursday morning’s conference call with running backs coach Charles London, featuring updates on Bill Belton, Curtis Dukes and Akeel Lynch.

1. Bill Belton is fully recovered from his ankle injury and will be a big part of Saturday’s gameplan at Iowa. Belton suffered a sprained ankle in the season opener against Ohio and returned Sept. 29 at Illinois. Two weeks ago against Northwestern, Belton received limited touches, raising questions as to how healthy he really was.

2. Curtis Dukes, who had made waves last week when he told his hometown paper that he was unhappy with the amount of playing time he was getting, is continuing to practice hard. Missing spring practice because of academic issues had set him back in picking up the offense, London said. Dukes, primarily contributing on special teams, has questioned his future with the program, but London didn’t rule out another appearance by Dukes in the backfield just yet.

“His number was called against Navy and Temple,” London said. “I’m sure it will be called again.”

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3. Freshman running back Akeel Lynch, who is redshirting this year, is working with the “dirty show” (scout team), mirroring the opposition’s ground game. Lynch’s assignment this week, Iowa, poses an interesting thought. Remember, Lynch reportedly chose Penn State over Iowa in the summer after the NCAA sanctions were handed down. Given Iowa’s misfortune at the running back position, would Lynch be starting in black and gold this week if he had chosen the Hawkeyes?

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