Penn State is playing the best running back in college football New Year’s Eve, and here’s one thing it could do to slow him done.
Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty isn’t just America’s best RB, he might be the best player period.
For many, it was he, not Colorado’s two-way superstar Travis Hunter, who should have won this year’s Heisman Trophy (Jeanty finished second).
Through 13 games, Jeanty has rushed for— you’re not about to misread this— 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. He’s 133 yards away from Barry Sanders’ single season NCAA record. He’s rushed for 200+ yards six times and has eclipsed the century-mark in all 13 games. So, yeah, he’s a problem, and a player of Jeanty’s caliber might be too talented to fully stop.
But his opposite, Penn State RB Nicholas Singleton, has a suggestion for Penn State to neutralize him.
SINGLETON’S SUGGESTION
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Nick Singleton
Singleton’s suggestion is simple: Wrap him up.
“Seeing his highlights and obviously seeing what he’s able to do on a national stage, he’s a really good player,” Singleton told reporters via Zoom Thursday. “How to slow him down? Obviously, you have to wrap up. Different opponents they face, everybody’s not wrapping up, not tackling, trying to go for the big hit. His vision, his balance is obviously incredible. So, a guy him, you have to wrap him up and tackle him.”
IS PENN STATE UP TO THE TASK?
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
Per Pro Football Focus, Penn State, which has the No. 6 scoring defense in the county, has missed 150 tackles this season, which is more than 10 per game.
PSU missed 15 tackles in its 38-10 first-round win over SMU last week and also missed 15 against Oregon in the Big Ten title game.
In the regular-season finale against Maryland, it missed only seven.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The team’s worst effort of the season statistically, believe it or not, came against Bowling Green Week 2, where it missed 16 tackles.
So how has Penn State done in that department overall?
“We struggled a little bit at times,” LB Dom DeLuca told reporters via Zoom Friday, “but the offense always had our back those days, and then sometimes we’ll have the offense’s back. Just being able to play as a team is huge for us and just for a defensive perspective. I feel like if we just play, do our job at a high level, wrap up, make tackles, even hold them up and let the game come and let the whole team, all 11 players run to the football. I mean, that’s going to be huge for us, as long as everyone gets to the football, I think we’ll have a great game.”
DeLuca said defenders have emphasized “stopping our feet on contact” in December.
“We practiced it a lot the last couple weeks,” DeLuca said, “and just being able to do that day in and day out, it doesn’t matter what game, who we’re playing, just being able to keep your feet on contact, wrap up and run through whoever’s running the ball. I mean, that’s going to be huge for us.”
The running back who has forced the most missed tackles this season is, you guessed it, Ashton Jeanty with 135 (the next-highest runner has 94.)
For LB Kobe King, Penn State can’t afford to go for the figurative kill.
“I would say just from my standpoint, if you wrap a guy up it wouldn’t be that difficult,” King told reporters Friday. “Just like any other guy carrying the ball, you have to wrap up rather than try to go in for a kill shot or just try to go for the ball. You have to wrap up first and that’s the way I think I play when I’m going for a tackle. I’m always shooting my arms or kind of just trying to wrap people climb in. But it’s definitely a point of emphasis that we have to be locked in on this week as a defense especially wrapping up, keeping our feet, running through tackles, just like every week something that we emphasize and something that we hold ourselves accountable on is tackling and that’s going to be big for us this week. So that’s really it. Just another thing we have to dial in on and guys are going to take that as an opportunity and take advantage of it.”
No. 6 Penn State and No. 3 Boise State are scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 New Year’s Eve night on ESPN.
