Penn State assistant Ja'Juan Seider likes where the Lions' run game is at despite fewer explosive runs; here's why

Penn State sixth-year assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator, and running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider has heard what you, and everyone else, has said about the Lions’ lack of explosive runs this year. But, the long-tenured assistant thinks all of us are focused on the wrong thing when evaluating the team’s rushing attack after a 5-0 start. And, while you may disagree with him, his points are accurate. And, because of them, the program has so far traded one thing for another.

In past years, Penn State could not always run when it wanted to. So far this season, it has shown an ability to do that, sometimes at the expense of long runs. Do the Lions want more of those? Of course. Who doesn’t like grand slam home runs? But, asked about how he looks at the rushing attack after five games, the Penn State assistant made it clear that he is pleased.

“I really like where we’re at,” Seider said Thursday. “Contrary to belief, we run the ball effectively. We haven’t had a lot of long runs. Everybody knows that. But if you watch the film, you watch the defense the week before they play us, and the week when they play us, we are getting different defenses every week. So, our job is not to press. I bet we’re one of the top teams in the country on first down. There’s a lot of reasons. One of them is our running backs. I think we have a bunch of 10-play drives. That’s really showing our growth as an offense. At Iowa, we took that game and punched them in the gut the whole game, and finished the game how we want to play.

“So, we’re doing some good stuff. Maybe leaving a few yards out there, but our guys are learning on the go.”

For Penn State, changing the plan on the fly is key

Seider said repeatedly that Penn State is getting different looks on game day compared to what it sees on film. An area of growth, in his mind, has been how the players communicate what they see before the coaches translate it and come up with a new plan of attack for them to execute. That process has improved each week.

“What I told the guys early in the season is, we got to have a plan when people play us differently,” Seider said. “And, they are. Every [opponent’s game plan is] to stop the running backs. We’re making teams get out their comfort zone. Iowa is a two-high shell team, and if you look at the game, they played down [in the box] with the strong safety’s head behind the [middle lineabcker] the whole game. It’s really hard to dig those guys out.

“So, we’re fine. I love where the guys are at. Our game is growing. We catch the ball well, and the big plays are going to come. The best part of our offense is, we’re not forcing it.”

Seider, who joined the Penn State staff back in 2018, later expounded on why he likes where the running backs are at.

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“If you watch the game, and if fans can watch the game and not just get caught up in the numbers, watch these guys in pass pro,” Seider said. “I mean, we’re talking about an area of growth, watch these guys catch the ball. And watch these guys finish forward. Anytime we get the ball, we’ve been plus-two [yards] on contact. That is the most important thing that you want to see out of a running back because, always, the question you ask is, how do they finish? Do they finish their block, do they finish their run, do they finish their catch? And, I can say this honestly, and not being defensive for these guys, but they are doing that.

“They are getting better week in and week out. And we’ve taken everybody’s best shot. I got a lot of friends at these other places, and the biggest compliment you can get from those guys is, ‘Man, your running back room is speical. We did everything we could to keep those guys contained and say ‘hey, beat us in other ways,’ which we’ve been able to do, because, Drew [Allar]’s getting better, he’s getting older, our receivers are getting more confident in each other. So, our offense continues to expand. Which, when we do that, it’s going to allow more space in the running game.”

Summing it all up

Space is key. It will come. But for now, Penn State is taking what it is given and making the most of it.

Seider pointed out that the Lions are third in the Big Ten and 25th in the country with 194.8 yards per game. In previous seasons, that would be built largely on big gains. This year, it’s built on consistent ones, which has the offense chugging along entering the final seven games of the regular season.

“When you really think about it, we’re doing some great stuff, and Nick [Singleton] and Kaytron [Allen] haven’t played in the fourth quarter,” Seider said. “So, we haven’t had to play a four quarter game where they can grind it out, and now you maybe have multiple guys with 100 yards.

“So again, we’re doing some good things. We have to continue to. Do we like to do things better? Yes. All of us do. That’s the best part of the bye week, so we can evaluate ourselves as coaches and evaluate ourselves with players. So, I think we got a chance to really improve on the next seven games, and then hope it keeps us right in the thick of things.”