Scruggs Making Strides in Bid to Resume Career

When Penn State unveiled its spring depth chart in April, it was understood to be entirely provisional, a document so full of guesswork and conjecture that even the coaching staff didn’t know how accurate it was. The team hadn’t conducted a practice session since December, after all.

Given all the uncertainty, there wasn’t necessarily any reason to put stock in Juice Scruggs’ appearance as the backup center. Scruggs, a former four-star prospect from Ashtabula, Ohio, had seen his career derailed by a back injury he suffered in a car accident in the spring of 2019. The injury forced him to sit out spring practice that year, and while he had initially hoped to be back in action in the fall, the timetable proved to be too optimistic. He didn’t play in 2019, and coming out of the team’s most recent winter workouts, it was unclear to those outside the program whether he would be back on the field in the spring.

As it turns out, he would have been back. Teammates and coaches recently lauded his progress and said that he could be a factor in 2020 as the backup to Michal Menet whenever the Nittany Lions resume practicing.

“Juice is doing awesome. He did everything this winter with me,” offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said. “His technique is getting better. He’s starting to play on his legs again.”

Menet said he’s seen Scruggs’ diligent rehab work paying off.

“He’s been absolutely grinding every single day since it happened, trying to get back, doing everything he could, everything the trainers and doctors asked,” Menet said. “You’ve definitely got to give him props, because he wants to play. You can tell. I don’t think he’s really going to skip a beat once he gets back.”

Added senior tackle Will Fries, “It’s great to see him getting back to full form. He’s confident, he’s feeling good, he’s healthy. I think that he would have had a big role in the spring. Leading up to this season, he’s going to play a big role in our team’s success. I’m really excited for him to keep grinding, keep getting bigger, stronger, learning the playbook. Just seeing him happy and confident has been really good to see.”

While Scruggs was listed as the second-team center on the spring depth chart, Trautwein said that the 6-foot-3, 297-pound redshirt sophomore has the versatility to play wherever he’s needed.

“He has the athletic [ability] and feet to play tackle,” Trautwein said. “And then he has the power in his legs to play guard. He’s a guy who will play all five [positions]. Keeping him healthy is my job, and I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen and get him fundamentally sound and technically sound so he’s not putting himself in any harm.”

Scruggs, who arrived at Penn State as part of the Class of 2018, has a talent for first impressions. A member of two PIAA championship teams during his tenure at Erie Cathedral Prep in Pennsylvania, he caught Menet’s eye right away at Penn State.

“I was impressed with Juice from the first day he showed up on campus,” said the senior center. “He’s a very smart player, he moves his body really well in terms of playing offensive line. So I’ve always been really excited and just waiting for him to get back, because I like watching him play.”

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