Nits' Belton hoping for a bigger role this season

STATE COLLEGE - The beginning of the 2012 season was Bill Belton's time, but the clock quickly ran out.

Belton was thrown into the role of starting running back after Silas Redd transferred, and he scored the first touchdown of the Bill O'Brien era. An ankle injury in the first game derailed Belton, but when he returned to the field, Zach Zwinak had emerged as the team's top option in the backfield, and Belton had only one carry in the final four games.

Zwinak is atop the depth chart as the Nittany Lions open against Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., but Belton is right behind him. The Sicklerville, N.J., native and Winslow High product also is one of the Lions' kickoff returners, so he will get his hands on the football.

And he'll do so with the learning experience of last season in the back of his mind.

"Maybe it wasn't my time yet. Maybe I wasn't ready yet," the junior said. "Basically, looking back on it, I don't think I was. I was in a position where I had to step up and become that guy. But now, I experienced those things last year and I feel like I am ready to go this year, and I know a lot more about the game, running back and how college football works."

Belton totaled 258 yards on the ground, 50 receiving yards and four touchdowns in eight games (five starts). He missed three games after the opener with the injury, but the job was still his when he returned in late September. Belton had some strong performances after he was banged up, but he eventually was replaced by Zwinak, a more hard-nosed runner.

"It wasn't a disappointment or nothing like that," Belton said. "It's just something that you take with a grain of salt. You keep working. Everything happens for a reason."

Belton dealt with some classroom issues in the offseason, but O'Brien said everything has been straightened out. O'Brien added Belton had a good training camp, and the second-year coach wants the running back to be a part of his game plans this fall.

"He's going to play a lot of football for us this year," O'Brien said. "He's worked hard. He's quicker. He's running the ball more decisively than he did last year, and he can catch the ball out of the backfield."

Belton originally was a wide receiver in college. He also took some snaps in the wildcat formation his freshman year and ended with 13 carries for 65 yards. It was O'Brien, however, who wanted Belton to be in the backfield for good.

While Zwinak is the prototypical, Big Ten power back, Belton adds variety, as an agile runner with pass-catching ability. Belton is 5-10, but far from small, as he comes into this season listed at 205 pounds.

O'Brien noted he wants Belton to improve his decision-making this season, and take the ball more north and south. But as DaQuan Jones learned from experience, it is not easy to take Belton down with no one else around.

"I had him open-field, one-on-one last year, and I didn't quite get there," the defensive tackle said with a shake of his head.

Belton's best game came in the middle of last season, when he scorched Iowa's defense for 103 yards and three touchdowns. The success was short-lived, however. He followed it the performance with a 10-carry, 26-yard showing the following week against Ohio State and received only one more handoff in the last month of the season.

"College football is all about being consistent," Belton said. "The more consistent you are, the better off you're going to be. So, one thing I took away from last year was coming out every day, whether it's on the practice field or it's game time, you just got to be consistent and practice good habits."

While Belton spent most of his game days on the sideline last November, Zwinak racked up 589 yards in the Lions' last quarter of contests and became O'Brien's obvious choice at running back.

With No. 1 on his jersey, Belton is Penn State's second-string running back, at least for the start of the season. His time might come again, and if it does, a more humble and experienced Belton will be handling it.

"You can't just basically think you're above everyone else, when you're really on the same playing field as everyone else," Belton said.