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Penguins show off depth in the backfield
By Joe scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
As a running back, YSU sophomore Jamaine Cook is used to worrying about the guys chasing him.
Thing is, not all of them are on the opposing team.
Cook carried 18 times for 93 yards — both team-highs — as the Penguins rolled up 286 yards on the ground in Saturday’s 31-7 win over Butler. It was a career-best performance for Cook, who knows he needs to make the most of his opportunities in YSU’s talent-rich backfield.
“We’ve got five running backs and everybody’s running hard,” said Cook. “When you get your chance, you’ve just got to ‘ball.’”
True freshman Jordan Thompson carried 10 times for 65 yards and scored the game’s first touchdown, an 8-yard run with 3:35 left in the first quarter. Thompson was the team’s fifth-string running back early in the training camp but, for one day at least, moved into the backup role.
“Jordan is a guy we feel can be really special,” said Penguins coach Eric Wolford. “He runs very hard, as you guys can see. Not just one guy can tackle him.”
Bellamy, who got the most carries of any back against Penn State last week, added 60 yards on 10 carries and scored twice. Redshirt freshman Torrian Pace — arguably the team’s best back in the spring — had 39 yards on nine carries and true freshman Allen Jones had nine yards on one carry.
“We’ve got a pretty good group of running backs. “To get through this league, you better have more than just one or two running backs.”
YSU didn’t have much success running against Penn State, which was no surprise. On Saturday, with the Penguins’ passing game sputtering a little and heavy rains falling in the second half, Wolford opted to keep the ball on the ground.
“The run game was working, so we kind of decided, ‘You know what? We’ll stick with the run game until they decide to stop it,” he said. “Good things are to come.
“We’ve just got to keep getting better up front and hopefully we will.”