Jeremy Larkin is in his second season with the Penguins serving as Running Backs Coach. Larkin joined Coach Doug Phillips' staff in February 2023.
In 2023, YSU advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time in seven years. The running backs played a key role in Penguins offensive success during the campaign.
Newcomer Tyshon King and veteran Dra Rushton had outstanding seasons. King garnered second-team All-MVFC honors and was named to the league's All-Newcomer squad. He rushed for 1,011 yards on 187 carries and scored nine touchdowns while catching 18 passes. Rushton had a career-best season with 664 yards on 163 carries and had nine touchdowns. He also led the group with 20 receptions for 154 yards.Â
YSU's offense set a school record for 40-plus point games with six. YSU also set a new school record by scoring 30-or-more points in six straight games. The Penguins scored 28-plus points in all but two games. The Guins led all of FCS by averaging 35:06 in time of possession per contest.
Prior to joining the YSU staff, Larkin worked at Notre Dame and Northwestern.
He was a defensive anaylst for the Marcus Freeman at Notre Dame during the 2022 campaign. The Irish posted a 9-4 record and capped off the season with a victory over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl.
During the 2020Â and 2021Â campaigns he was a defensive graduate assistant at Northwestern for Coach Pat Fitzgerald. In 2020, the Wildcats finished 7-2 reaching the Big Ten title game. The program capped off an outstanding season with a win over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl.
As an undergraduate at Northwestern, Larkin was a running back for the program before transitioning into a student-assistant coach for his last two seasons.
Larkin played in 16 games during his Wildcats career from 2016-18 before retiring from the sport midway through the 2018 season.Â
He earned his bachelor's from Northwestern in 2020 and went onto earn his Masters of Sports Administration in 2022.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was a standout running back at LaSalle High School.
