Penn State TE shares keys that could unlock Nittany Lions' rushing attack

Penn State tight end Theo Johnson stated the obvious Wednesday morning: It doesn't matter who the Nittany Lions starting quarterback is against Illinois, because the ground game must get going regardless.

The Nittany Lions wrapped up the first half of the 2021 college football season with the 10th-ranked rushing attack out of 14 Big Ten schools in the yards per carry category and are No. 12 in total rushing yards.

No back has been able to fully take command of the job, and there hasn't always been a lot of room for that position group to get going anyway.

That all must change during the second half of the year if head coach James Franklin's team wants to reach its full potential, which made diagnosing what was wrong and how to fix it a key part of the bye week.

Answers were found, and now they must be put to good use on the field, starting just after Noon on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State would be expected to run more, of course, if Ta'Quan Roberson or Christian Veilleux start over Sean Clifford, but ultimately, they have to be able to run effectively whenever they want either way.

"I think the running game is important, regardless of who's at quarterback," Johson said. "I think that we still have a lot to prove in the run game, and I think there's just so much meat left on the bone. We have all the tools, we've just yet to do a great job of putting all those tools together.

"Every week, that's something that we put a lot of emphasis on, and we've continued to put emphasis on, because we know that every play, it's just one little thing that's not right, it's a little off, and that's all it takes for the play to not be as good as it should be. So, I think that's something that, regardless of the quarterback is, that's vital for us [to improve] for the rest of the season."

Johnson said earlier during his conference call with reporters that the tight ends can play a big role in fixing what has been a struggling part of the Nittany Lions' attack, but it's not up to just them, of course.

Receivers must block better, the offensive line needs to create more push, and the running backs themselves must see and hit holes quicker while following the play as it is designed to be run.

It will be interesting to see who gets the first call in the backfield this weekend, as Devyn Ford started at Iowa but left the game due to injury, as did John Lovett. Their status for Saturday is unclear, and it's similarly uncertain whether Noah Cain or Keyvone Lee would draw the start if both are absent.

Regardless, the talent is good enough across the board to have at worst a middle of the road rushing attack in the Big Ten, but all the speed and strength in the world won't fix the mental miscues and physical mistakes that have kept that part of the offense grounded through six games.

It's time for the Lions to walk the walk after talking the talk of bye week improvements, and that must begin immediately with a very challenging regular season stretch on deck.

"I think it's really just being on the same page," Johnson said. "That's the biggest thing. If we make a check, everyone's got to know the check and everyone's got to execute that check properly, and everyone's got to do their job. The linemen have to be on the same page do the job, [the tight ends] have to be on the same page, and the running backs have to trust that the linemen and the tight ends are making the blocks the right way, and hit the gap they're supposed to. "We have yet to play as a whole, collectively, and something Coach Yurcich talks about a lot is just trust.

"Running backs have to trust that that gap will open up, and we got to push that gap, tight ends got to trust that the running back is going to hit where he's supposed to, so we got to get our landmarks properly. I think that we just got to play as a whole, and I think that's something that we haven't done a lot of. We've had flashes of it, and I think as we continue to do that, that's when our running game is really going to start to pop."

*******

• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated

• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @GregPickel, @ThomasFrankCarr

• Follow us on Instagram

• Like us on Facebook