With the departure of running back Silas Redd early in Bill O’Brien’s tenure there was an understandable level of concern entering the 2012 season. A talented running back with the skills that Redd had while at Penn State was not going to be easy to replace.
Surprisingly, Zach Zwinak landed the starting job and rushed for a casual 1000 yards and six touchdowns in his first season of significant action. While Zwinak didn’t have the blistering speed or shifty moves that some of Penn State’s recent tailbacks have had, his efficient and hardworking style of play blended in well with Bill O’Brien’s offense.
This season, the addition of a refocused Bill Belton and redshirt freshman Akeel Lynch will give the Nittany Lions simply too much talent in the backfield to give all of the carries to Zwinak.
“I think all three of those guys can catch the ball,” Penn State coach Bill O’Brien said. “I think you’ve got three very, very different skill sets in the fact that you’ve got Zwinak who is just around 235, 240 pounds; big, tough kid, very strong guy, had a great off-season in the weight room.”
“Then you’ve got a guy like Billy Belton, who is not quite as big as Zwinak, he has got good quickness, he can catch the football. He’s lost some weight, he’s in better condition and we’re really looking forward to seeing what he does.”
“Then you’ve Akeel Lynch who had a tremendous off-season in the weight room, improved his speed, improved his conditioning level and he’s somewhere in between size-wise and all those different things I talked about early on, between Zwinak and Belton, so he’s a little bit of both.”
How does O’Brien plan on using each of the three backs? He’s excited about what they have to offer, but he doesn’t want to tip his hand just yet.
“Yeah, I’d love to be able to tell you exactly what I want to do with the running backs, but that would be awful stupid of me to do that. It will be fun to watch those guys and then we’ll have to, especially me, I’ll have to do a good job of putting them in the right spot to take advantage of what they do best.”
Next weekend’s Blue White game might give fans an idea of what to expect from each back this year, especially Lynch, who has gathered a lot of hype but his on-field abilities have yet to be seen by many outside the practice field.
Penn State returns a 1,000 yard receiver in Allen Robinson, a 1,000 yard rusher in Zwinak, and a 1,000 yard stable of tight ends that were one of the most productive combos in the country. Lynch and Belton will both look to add their names to an impressive list of offensive talent in Happy Valley.
Day 13: What Should Be Expected of Players Who Changed Positions?
Day 12: Breaking Down Penn State’s Roster By the Numbers
Day 11: Which Redshirt Freshmen Are Ready to Shine?
Day 10: Year Two Has Had Ups and Downs for Former Penn State Head Coaches
Day 9: Top 5 Springtime Quarterback Battles
Day 8: Will Bill O’Brien’s Run-Pass Ratio Change in 2013?
