Penn State Nittany Lions

Lynch ready to lead Penn State on, off field

Published Jul. 23, 2015 11:34 a.m. ET

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Now an elder statesman in the running backs room, Akeel Lynch intends to have a breakout year for Penn State in 2015. 

He also knows he needs to impart as much wisdom as he can to the rest of the players at his position -- all of whom are redshirt or true freshmen. 

"A lot has changed in the past years," Lynch told PennLive.com. "A lot of responsibilities have gone onto my shoulders to lead the young guys. I think it's gone well."

He credited 2014 seniors Bill Belton and Zach Zwinak for their teachings in the past, although he must be looking forward to getting far more than the 147 carries he logged in 2014. Although he led the team in that category as well as rushing yards (678), Lynch's name could not be found among the Big Ten leaders as Belton also got the ball 125 times and ran for 526 yards. 

With Belton and Zwinak gone, Lynch is in line for a bigger role, and the coaches are likely to look for at least one player from the redshirt freshman group of Mark Allen, Nick Scott and Johnathan Thomas and/or true freshmen Saquon Barkley and Andre Robinson to step up and be a reliable No. 2. 

(H/T PennLive.com)

Photo credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

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