Where Was Quinton Martin?! Penn State's Running Back Rotation Raises Questions!

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1:01All season long on ESPN and streaming on the ESPN app. Penn State fans really want to see Quint Martin running back. Yet he didn't get a single snap against Temple. You are locked on Nittany Lions. Your daily podcast on the Penn State Nittany Lions. Part of the locked on podcast network. Your team every day. My name is Zach Seiko. Your host is always. He is Zane Brandsfield, associate producer here on Lockdown Nittany Lions. And thanks so much for joining us on field recap from Lincoln Financial Field. Just a hash out some more takeaways about Penn State and an ugly win. But it was a win. And we'll talk about the running back room. Stick around because Penn State got devastating news. Key defender out for the season confirmed by Matt Campbell himself. We'll talk about that in just a moment. Zane, I want to talk about the dilemma that seems to be at hand.

2:02Penn State believes that Carson Hanson and James Peoples are the guys that they need to go with. The fans. People who sit back and say, well, where's Quint Martin in particular? You can't wallest deserve some more snaps as well. But it's primarily Quint Martin's not getting enough carries. He's not getting any. He's not getting any at all. I'm not surprised by the way that the running back rotation is. Does Penn State need to change that? Do they need to play Quint Martin more? I don't think Penn State does because I think at the end of the day, I think the coaching staff, the coaching staff is getting paid to do this for a living. If they're making the decision that Quint Martin shouldn't be on the field, there's probably a reason to that. Whatever that reason may be. And sure, Penn State fans might want to like, oh, Quint Martin Jr., he's had explosive games. He's well in the pinched right bowl. Well, that's not everything that goes into picking your starting running back or your running back that's getting snaps to it.

3:03There's more to it. There's how they handle themselves. How do they carry themselves? How they are in the team meeting rooms? Yes, town on the field matters. Maybe the coaching staff doesn't think Quint can read the reads and the blocks the same way that Carson can or James Peoples can. All that matters in the grand scheme of things. I think those are reason Matt Campbell and company aren't throwing Quint Martin and Kim Wallace out there. But I don't think they need to change anything right now. This is game two of a long season. They're going to figure it out. Now, something happens down the line and say Carson Hansen, James Peoples, can't even get three, four yards, then maybe you switch it up. But right now, that's not the case. Carson Hansen, while he's not as flashy as her Seikwam Barclays or Miles Sanders or Journey Browns or Nick Singletons, but he gets the job done. He averaged a little less than five yards of carry today. And that's what Penn State wants from. He's going to go in there. He's going to take the ball and he's going to run right through the gaps and he's going

4:05to hit his guy and he's going to try a break tap. That's who Carson Hansen is. It's not flashy. It's pretty, but it gets the job done. I don't think that Carson Hansen should be benched or taking out of the start and roll. I do think when Martin should have at least a carry, at least a snap. I was absolutely surprised that Martin did not get any snaps today at running back. And Kim Wallace got the first snaps. So that makes me wonder again, because that's more, I'm not concerned about Carson Hansen. I'm not concerned about James Peoples. I'm concerned what is going on with Quentin Martin that doesn't lead him to get any snaps here against Temple again. Again, that's a game that's relatively out of reach for Temple, right? It's not like this is a, you know, down to the wire. It's a field bull type of game and you're going to rely on your starters and the guys that have been in this offense. I can, I can reason with that. But when you're up to three touchdowns and we still don't see Quentin Martin in the game later on, it's Carson Hansen getting.

5:09Twenty touches. He had what? I think it was 19 carries. He had two receptions and then James Peoples had about six carries and he was the most efficient of the day. If anything, James Peoples should get more carries and Carson Hansen should, you know, 15 for Carson Hansen, maybe 12 to James Peoples and then some more of Quentin Martin or Kim Wallace, whoever has the better week. But that is concerning in my mind that, okay, Martin's a veteran. He's not a freshman or anything like that. He's played college football for a few years. He's a former high end recruit. He wasn't a five star, but he was a high end recruit. He's been at Penn State for a while. It's a new system for him, but the guy is good. So clearly there is some sort of disconnect here to where you're not getting a single snap at running back where we've only heard positive intel about Martin all off season. Hey, he's effective out of the back field as a receiver. We saw what he could do in the bowl game against Clemson, but that doesn't matter on

6:12game day now with this current staff. So Zane, I default back to the Penn State coaching staff is looking very specifically for running backs who can do anything and everything at all times. Not you're good out of the back field, but you can't block. You can run between the tackles, but maybe you're not as effective as a pass catcher, okay? They have emphasized we need all facets of the running back spot. We need you to be able to block. We need you to be able to catch. We need you to be able to run between the tackles outside of the tackles at any given time so that it allows us to be versatile on offense. So clearly, Quint Martin isn't doing one of those things of the equation. I got to imagine it's blocking because that's something that Mauser and Campbell emphasized going leading into the season here that we just want our running backs to be able to block. Quint Martin probably can't do that. And that's why we're not seeing him much on the football field right now. Yeah, and to add to that, like today James Peoples had a block where he picked up the blitz. It was great.

7:13I know what you're talking about. It was a great block and it's like, but can Quint and do that. And the other facet of the two is Matt Campbell's blocking is so important. Like they run four tight ends sets at times just for the sake of blocking and running the ball. And so, will Quint Martin get playing time? I don't know. We're gonna have to wait and see. And then things change week to week. Maybe that's the way to get back to the week of practice. Maybe? Yeah, maybe that's what happens for Campbell and his staff. But right now, Penn State is rolling with Carson Hanson and James Peoples. And the grand scheme of things they did okay today. And I think they, despite not being the prettiest, they did better today than they did last week against Marshall. And hopefully, they can fill it on that and keep that going into Buffalo because even post game, Carson Hanson was already talking about how they can polish things up and focus on Buffalo. And taking a lot of responsibility for the run game not being as good as, if being as good and beneficial as like what it can be. And he said, like Coach Mouser, like is trying to take some of that credit and saying, like, it's on him too. Carson was like, no, like, that's on me.

8:14Like on the one who needs to make, needs to make these plays, need to break the tackles. That's what Carson Hanson wants to do. And it's a lot different to when he started talking to these guys and like, they are people and they're trying their hardest out there each and every week. And I haven't seen anything from Quentin Martin or James People's or Carson Hanson to say, this guy is definitively the best guy on the team. Okay. Carson Hanson understands the offense the most. So early in the season, again, I'm not surprised that they aren't, I'm not surprised that they're defaulting to him. He knows the system. He knows what it takes. He's clearly that guy that can block. He's not as quick and shifty as maybe a typical running back, but he's a power back after all. And he understands the offense. But Quentin Martin, it's not like he came in to that Marshall game and had 10 carries 100 yards and two touchdowns. He turned in the same stat line as everybody else. So yes, I would like to see Quentin Martin get other opportunities, but there also hasn't,

9:18I haven't seen a reason for me to say, well, you got to put Carson Hanson and James People's on the bench to make way for Quentin Martin. That's just not where we're at right now. So with that being said, the running back room probably isn't going to change a whole lot. I think we will see the dynamic return more to Marshall because Buffalo is not that great of a team. So we'll see them kind of cycle in a little bit more and have more of an even distribution. But that's because I'm expecting Penn State to blow out Buffalo in the upcoming week. But as we shift and pivot to Buffalo, bad news, very bad news on the injury front as Penn State defensive end Max Granville, it was the worst case scenario with the injury rumors. He is out for the season. Matt Campbell confirmed it in the post game press conference here against Temple. What does this mean for the pass rushers going forward because they didn't have a good performance against Temple. We're going to break it all down next year. Unlocked on Nitty-Lions.

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14:26He's going to be unavailable. Devastating for Penn State, obviously devastating for Max Granville as the individual because of all the work that he put in to get back to this point and just to be healthy and be available now dealing with essentially a second consecutive long term injury lost season here. Maybe it's the same injury from from a year ago. It might be something completely different, just bad luck. Penn State is losing a reliable pass rusher in Granville with a ton of upside. I didn't think Granville was going to be a superstar this season, but he was going to be a co-starter, if you will, at defensive end. He was rotating evenly and just a week ago, Kameshuk, Granville, McPherson, EasyAugue, Bacon were all kind of rotating in evenly. They played about 20 to 25 snaps each. That means that Granville was going to be utilized and that they wanted him to be a factor in this defense. I don't know that he was going to be significantly an outlier from this group. I think you were going to get fairly similar production, but Granville still had that

15:29potential to eventually reach that so long as he stayed healthy. You're losing out on star potential. I don't know if that would have happened overnight, but Granville certainly was a player that factored into the defensive plans. Does it change the whole, Zane, I'm curious. Does it change the dynamic of the defensive end room because I still like what they have? I really do. Those other four defensive ends that I named are talented, are good, are playmakers. They did struggle to dig against Temple, though. New tackles for a loss. One of them happened to be a sack from Camus Hughes, so they were really not that productive today against Temple. If you look at this game alone and then you have the Granville news, Zane, the stock is way down for the defensive end room. It is, but I don't, like sure. It hurts a lot to lose Max Granville, but I think the biggest thing here is, it doesn't have to be a full-wee take away, but it puts a lot more pressure on the other defensive ends because you can't have, like if one guy gets tired or something and it's up to it, like he doesn't matter, you got to stay in the game type of deal.

16:31Like they do have a little bit of depth, but Caleb Bacon had a big game last weekend to Marshall, but now he's got to keep that up. He's got to be more consistent. He's not existing today. You went from the superstar game of how many, he was the second leading tackler, multiple tackles for a loss of sack to literally nothing. Literally, there was no Caleb Bacon today as far as I'm concerned. So between Bacon and Ivan Camajou and Ike Ezeogu and even like McPherson too, but like all those guys now have to be extra productive in less, like in more time and just has to be more concentrated. And they have to really like work for what they're doing because it's like the deep, like the offensive teams, like they know that Granville is not in there. And it's not necessarily that they scheme for him, but they know like that rotation is going to be a little different. But guys are going to be tired. It's thinner. And so more pressure on the Penn State defensive ends to pick it up and who knows maybe that means adjusting some formulations and things. But I think I trust this Penn State coaching staff to adjust to that.

17:36I think Coach Dan Lynn has done a good job. He made some adjustments today, even just as the game went on. And the defense looked a little different compared to Marshall and I'm not saying that's because Granville was there or not. I think this team can adjust, appear to have to play without Max Granville on the field because while it was a different coaching staff last, their Penn State figured it out. And I think Matt Campbell, like with his experience and everything, I think he can figure it out too. And so this Penn State team, sure they lose Granville, but they get back some other guys too, like Gabriel's back and Alex Tashy back. And so maybe like just the natural health of his team is still training upwards and like a Gallaghalic's Tash coming back. Could be big too because he can move some pieces around. I'm not like, now I'll say he's playing defensive end. But you have pieces now just in the defensive end. Those guys are capable of rushing after the pass. Especially Tony Robos too. Those guys can chase down the QB. I'm not worried about the defensive end room.

18:37Again, I just rattled off four defensive ends that are all essentially coach starters is Kemajoo the best. He might be on a given day. It's easy. It was Kayla Bacon clearly against Marshall. Today it was Kemajoo who had the the lone sack. Again, disappointed because the defensive ends weren't able to capitalize on the momentum. I wonder if the back of their minds, you know, the Granville injury. Matt Campbell really talked about how devastating it was. The next part of all of this Penn State's defensive end room can get back to where it was despite not having Granville. If Jackson Ford or Elijah and or Elijah Reader is able to step up. Those are the two freshman defense events. And I'd Penn State fans should be aware of them because both Ford and Reader have the same kind of build and the same kind of capabilities. They are essentially carbon copies of one another where if they're 6'4, 6'5, 260 pounds,

19:38they're 3 down defensive linemen. They can stuff the run. They're not going to get bullied out of by a left tackle or by a right tackle. They're not going to get pushed out of the way. And then they're capable of rushing after the quarterback. So with Granville being out, this opens a door. This opens an opportunity for either of them to emerge, but it's a matter of, can Penn State trust them in the scheme? Because Dantlin system is complex. Can you trust Ford to handle his defensive assignment as a first year player? And you ask Elijah Reader to do that. And Reader is also dealing with an unknown injury of his own. He's been in and out of practice, right? I'd label him weak to weak or something like that. So right now, I'm looking to Jackson Ford to see if he can take a massive step forward. You're going to see opportunities and practice open up for him. So that is who I would highlight. I would circle going forward because Granville's unavailable. Penn State's going to turn and say, all right, Ford, are you going to be able to step up? Or Reader, when you're fully healthy. When you be the guy we can count on. So this defensive end room, it's like I said, it takes a step backwards today in how you

20:41would grade them and how you would rate them because of all the news that's just not ideal early in the season like this, but they can recover. They can bounce back so long as everybody else stays healthy. Yeah. And then, like I said, I trust the staff to figure it out and be able to just make those things. And this Penn State team, they're two games into the season. There's a lot left to go. A lot of things you can pull away from this. I think they did some things well today. There's obviously things that they need to improve on. The overall health is trending the right direction for this team, which is important. And just Granville, as of right now, they're getting some guys back. But like I said, unfortunate. Really bad luck. It's really bad luck. And there's nothing you can really do about it. All Penn State can do is just continue to build off this. Like, then in the day, they did win the game. They got to play Buffalo next week. They got to win against Buffalo and just keep stacking wins. And like Coach Campbell had said earlier in the season, like he wants to know how this team responds to adversity. Well, they faced a whole lot of adversity today.

21:42And I think they responded relatively well. I think all things considered they hadn't seen like they had a scrambling quarterback today and Jackson Small, the ball of people who is running all through them. But like, they learned a little bit to contain as the game went on. It weren't giving him as many runs and as many first downs. And so I think Penn State can adjust. I think they can build off of this. And Matt Campbell was upset and he doesn't want his team to look like this on a game day. And so when you're upset like that and you're good coach, you coach your guys. And that's what he said. He's like, we need to coach them better. And so that's what Penn State is going to do as this continues to build on. And if Matt Campbell's supposed to be the guy for Penn State and if he's the coach of the future, then like, that's what needs to happen. Like, you're in a how these tough games, the how games you need to win. How you bounce back and play. And I'm not saying Buffalo's tough opponent, but you need to come back now and you need to play Buffalo even stronger than what you originally were planning to do. And then just keep stacking wins and like Matt Campbell says the right things.

22:44Now it's just a matter of doing. He is in Brandsville, associate producer here to the podcast. My name is Zach Seiko. Your host is always and thank you for joining us. Thank you for being here with us to talk all things Penn State versus temple. And what's next on the horizon for this NITNI line team 2 and O. Hey, they beat temple 27 to 9. Ready not pretty. Let's see if they can make those necessary adjustments given what just happened today. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section. Be a part of the conversation if you are new to the show. Subscribe to the YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcasts for the latest conversations around Penn State football. Penn State recruiting Penn State wrestling all right here on Lockdown, Mitty Lions. And podcast network each week on fire TV throughout the season to preview the biggest matchups across college football search college football kickoff on the fire TV app.