Penn State notes: Quinton Martin Jr. makes the most of his opportunity

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STATE COLLEGE – Quinton Martin Jr. has grown accustomed to standing on the sideline at Penn State, but that doesn’t mean he likes it.

One week ago, Martin never carried the football in the Nittany Lions’ decisive win over Temple.

“It was definitely frustrating,” he said. “I want to be out there helping my team win the best way that I can. But at the end of the day, I trust my coaches’ decision. All I can control is how I practice, how I prepare and how I handle adversity.”

Martin made a case for receiving more carries Saturday when he rushed 10 times for a team-high 100 yards in Penn State’s 55-13 blowout win over Buffalo at Beaver Stadium.

He entered the game late in the first quarter, picked up 7 yards on his first run and then burst outside for a 61-yard gain to set up the second of Ryan Barker’s two field goals.

“It felt really good,” Martin said. “I’m just out there playing football like I’ve always been.”

Martin enjoyed a stellar high school career at Belle Vernon in southwestern Pennsylvania and was a four-star prospect. He played in six games as a true freshman two years ago and had 13 carries for 32 yards.

Last year, stuck behind Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, he didn’t have one attempt until Allen and Singleton opted out of the Pinstripe Bowl against Clemson. In a 22-10 win, he carried 20 times for 103 yards.

He decided to stay at Penn State after Matt Campbell became the Lions’ new coach. He has battled Carson Hansen, James Peoples and Cam Wallace for playing time.

Wallace, who has spent his entire career at Penn State, ran eight times for 77 yards and one TD Saturday; Peoples, a transfer from Ohio State, had 59 yards and two TDs on eight carries; and Carson Hansen, a transfer from Iowa State, rushed five times for 37 yards and one score.

Campbell and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said several days ago that Martin deserved to play but never explained why he saw almost no action at Temple.

“I feel like I definitely could be a lot more urgent,” he said, “because the coaches saw what I could do throughout spring ball and fall camp. They just thought I wasn’t living up to the expectation of what I could be.

“I took last week as a bit of motivation, so I definitely feel like I practiced to the expectations.”

Robinson’s returns: Penn State has found a dynamic returner in redshirt freshman Zay Robinson, who gained 133 all-purpose yards against Buffalo.

Robinson returned eight punts for 109 yards, the most returns since Calvin Lowry had nine against Kent State in 2003. It was the most punt return yards by a Penn State player since Daequan Hardy had 129 against Massachusetts in 2023.

Matt Suhey, who died earlier this month, set the school record for punt return yards in a game with 145 against North Carolina State in 1978.

Robinson’s long return was 38 yards. He’s averaging 13.2 yards on 13 returns this season.

“It’s because of the great blocks and the great coaching that we get,” he said. “That’s what makes me explosive as a punt returner. The gunners and the jammers are the biggest keys for me because they’re probably the fastest guys on the field.

“I’ve been pretty close (to returning one for a TD). It’ll come soon.”

Injury report: Penn State center Brock Riker and tight end Andrew Rappleyea started against Buffalo, but each one left the game in the first half.

Riker played the first two series before redshirt freshman Vaea Ikakoula replaced him with the first-team offense.

“Both of those guys are kind of dinged up,” Campbell said. “We really didn’t know exactly where we would be with Brock going into the game. We wanted to at least get him out there. He was at 100%. I just didn’t feel it was the right situation to leave him in the game.

“The other thing is that Vaea has done a really good job, especially at that center spot. He’s one of today’s highlights. He was outstanding. Brock is really, really special to this team. It was precautionary.”

Rappleyea caught three passes for 24 yards, including a 3-yard TD that gave the Lions a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.

“Rap could have gone back in the game. I just didn’t feel like it was the right situation to leave him in the game.”

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