Penn State’s run game is still searching for its footing, but nobody in the building sounds ready to panic.
The Nittany Lions came into the season with plenty of buzz around a four-running back setup and the idea that the group’s depth and chemistry would push the room forward. That hasn’t fully shown up yet, but the coaching staff and players are still talking like the answer is in there somewhere.
“Obviously, to say that I wasn’t thrilled with where the run game's at would be an understatement,” Taylor Mouser said Tuesday. “Feel like there's a lot of growth to be had there.”
That frustration showed in Penn State’s win over Temple, when the team leaned on the run more than the pass even though the aerial attack had more success against the Owls. It was a clear attempt to keep pressing on the ground and let the backfield sort itself out as the weeks go on, as Campbell said Tuesday.
So far, Iowa State transfer Carson Hansen has been the main option and has handled most of the carries. But the production hasn’t matched the workload. The runs have lacked the kind of explosiveness and consistency Penn State needs, and that has kept the ground game from taking off.
Mouser said he’s not pointing fingers, including at Hansen. In fact, he said he’s putting some of the responsibility on himself, too, because he doesn’t feel he’s doing enough to put Hansen and the rest of the backs in position to show what they can do. The issues, in his view, have been small but damaging.
“For whatever reason, we’ve been a hair off, either he's missed it and blocked it well, or we haven't blocked it well, and there's been (missed assignments) on the ground that we need to clean up for him to be better,” Mouser said.
One notable absence against Temple was Quinton Martin Jr., who showed last season in Penn State’s Pinstripe Bowl win that he can run with consistency. Even with the rest of the backfield struggling, Martin never took a snap in Week 2.
Still, the staff hasn’t backed away from him. Campbell “has great belief” that Martin will be one of the “many guys throughout the season that are going to pop up and showcase themselves.”
Whether that moment comes against Buffalo in Week 3 or later in the Big Ten schedule, the confidence in Martin remains strong. Mouser said the staff believes he can make a real impact when his number is called.
“He's good enough to help our football team, and we're going to need that guy to make big plays with big moments this year,” Mouser said. “And his time's coming, and I have all the trust in him to go out there and play.”
For now, the message is simple: the run game is a work in progress, and Penn State knows it. The passing game has already established itself, and the challenge now is getting the ground attack to catch up.
“That's something that we want to get better at, and we want to be able to run the ball whenever we want to run the ball for sure,” tight end Gabe Burkle said. “So we're attacking that every day in practice, and I don't think we're far off at all.”
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