SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Penn State’s Saquon Barkley will be the most celebrated running back in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday.
That doesn’t mean he’ll be the only accomplished one.
Washington junior Myles Gaskin, who rushed for 1,282 yards on 208 carries during the regular season, just might keep Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry up at night before the week is over.
“I woke up thinking about him this morning,” Pry said Wednesday. “He’s just a very dynamic back. We’ve seen backs similar, that model, but I don’t know that we’ve seen one as good at it.
“Just the cuts and explosiveness, the balance. He sees the hole, can catch the ball out of the backfield. I’m super impressed with him.”
He said Maryland’s Lorenzo Harrison “would be a similar-type back” before adding that Gaskin “does things at another level.”
The Penn State players who will be charged with containing Gaskin don’t argue the point.
“Gaskin has got speed and strength,” defensive back Grant Haley said. “He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays hard, he runs hard. He can do a lot of things out of the backfield, catching screens, running the ball, running routes.
“He’s a high-profile player, and we know we have to keep any eye on him wherever he is.”
Bowen, Charles gone
Having linebacker Manny Bowen and wide receiver Irv Charles thrown out of the program for unspecified violations of team rules didn’t just open a couple of spots on Penn State’s roster.
It created two significant voids on their depth chart, one of which figures to be evident in the Fiesta Bowl, the other perhaps not until next season.
Charles never lived up to expectations as a wide receiver — he caught just three passes in two seasons — but was extremely effective on kick-coverage teams.
Considering that Washington’s Dante Pettis is among the most dangerous returners in the nation, being without Charles could cause real problems Saturday.
Bowen, meanwhile, was suspended for the final three games of the regular season, so the Nittany Lions have adapted to life without him, in part because Brandon Smith has filled in capably.
“Manny’s a very good talent,” Pry said. “Still [needs] a lot of developing to reach his potential, but when you have a guy like Brandon Smith who’s able to step up once again and play with the maturity and execution that he does … we’re four weeks into this [without Bowen] and really haven’t missed a beat.”
However, Smith and fellow senior Jason Cabinda will play their final collegiate game Saturday, which means Bowen’s experience and ability might be particularly missed in 2018, even though Penn State has a promising collection of young players at the position, including freshman Ellis Brooks, who is redshirting.
“Ellis has some qualities that remind me of [Cabinda],” Pry said. “Very bright. Very mature understanding of the game.
“He is a physical player. He is a very good tackler. So there’s qualities of Ellis that remind me of Jason, which is obviously a positive.”
Slowing down Vea
Penn State’s offensive line has struggled at time this season and will face a major challenge in trying to do damage-control against the Huskies’ defensive front.
Limiting the impact of Vita Vea, who is expected to be a first-round NFL draft choice in 2018, figures to be especially difficult, although Vea doesn’t sound as if he’s taking success against the Nittany Lions for granted.
“A lot of people will say the East Coast linemen, they’re tougher and they’re better at football,” he said. “So it will be fun to see how this all plays out.”
‘Big Ten style’
Although Penn State and Washington play in different conferences, the Nittany Lions expect a lot of what they will see from the Huskies on Saturday to look pretty familiar.
“If you watch the film, it’s pretty easy to tell their offensive line is very physical,” Nittany Lions defensive tackle Parker Cothren said. “They play hard and we’re kind of used to that, playing Big Ten. A lot of offensive lines play that style of football.
“They play more Big Ten style football than the other Pac-12 teams, I think. So I think it’s a good matchup honestly. I think it will be a good game.”
Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG
First Published: December 27, 2017, 7:15 p.m.
Updated: December 27, 2017, 7:15 p.m.