Over the next few weeks, Raiders.com is publishing a series of Q&As with the Silver and Black's position coaches.

Now we chat with running backs coach Omar Young, who has six seasons of NFL coaching experience with the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns. He also has nine years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently as the Iowa Hawkeyes running backs coach.

Here's what went into Young's decision to return to the NFL from the college level.

Levi Edwards: You had a pretty successful season with Iowa's rushing attack, averaging nearly 177 rushing yards a game with 28 rushing touchdowns. What role do you feel you played in making that rushing attack so effective?

Omar Young: "I just came in and I was a cog in the wheel. I can't take credit for any of that, those kids were great. The offensive line was great, obviously you've seen the success they had with three of those guys getting drafted pretty high. ... Just happened to be blessed and fortunate to get that opportunity to run with those guys and helping in terms of my part of making sure those guys were ready every single Saturday to perform at the highest level they could."

LE: What's the biggest difference between a running back at the college level verses professionally, and what goes into preparing them for the next level?

OY: "I think there's a lot more on the mental side up here in the league because you're asked for so many different things. Whereas in college you're not always asked from a protection standpoint, depending on what scheme you come from, to be heavily involved. But up here, you got to protect that quarterback. So that's a first and foremost thing there. There's a lot more involved in that we've got in terms of all the different coverages and disguises and looks and pressure packages these guys bring at us."

LE: Which running backs have influenced you the most through your coaching career?

OY: "That's a good question, man. Shoutout to Jamal Williams, Rico Dowdle, Aaron Jones, even my guys I just had at Iowa. Everybody I've worked with, to be honest with you, has shaped me in some way, shape, form or fashion to help me get to this point. Whether it was with the running back room, the receiver room when I was working with those guys, the tight end room, it doesn't matter. You always continue to keep growing and learning from the people that you work with."

LE: Speaking on the mental side of being a running back, the Raiders will be implementing a West Coast, zone-blocking offensive scheme. How do you coach up these running backs to ensure they're making the right decisions on the drop of a dime?

OY: "It all starts off, like you said, with the mental part. When you can have a mental approach of saying, 'Hey, what looks are these guys giving me?' and 'What are the possibilities that are going to happen pre-snap?' As your post-snap stuff starts to happen, then you go through your post-snap regimen. After that, then it becomes a situation of how effective and decisive am I in putting my foot in the ground and getting vertical. And that's the key in this deal. I've had a lot of experience in this system now for a long time. We drill the heck out of that."

LE: What's the biggest thing you're trying to teach Ashton Jeanty to elevate his game going into his second season?

OY: "Just giving him a good foundation from a football knowledge standpoint. Here are the things to anticipate, here are the things we're seeing, how to diagnose that faster and where am I fitting in this entire puzzle. Because for the running back position, we're involved in everything from pass protection, getting out in routes, the run game, all of it. So where do we fit on every single play? And that's been the great thing about OTAs and the offseason program, it's more mental for us right now than it is physical. Once we put the pads on, that's when we start to find out what we have in my room."

LE: The Raiders signed Connor Heyward this offseason. What does the fullback position bring to today's game?

OY: "I think we as an organization try and steal the old school foundation. At the core, taking care of the football, running the football, playing good defense – that's winning football. And having a fullback brings a level of physicality to your offense. We're saying, 'Hey bro, we're going to strap it up with you.' That's one of the things I like about that guy. Every day he comes in there ready to work, ready to be pushed to the limits from a physical standpoint."

LE: This is a fairly young running back room. How excited are you to coach this unit and help them through the maturation process?

OY: "I'm super excited, but I think it starts with, first and foremost, the people. Those guys push me every single day with, 'Hey man, we need more, we need this.' And that's awesome. It's been one of the first times where I've had this much want and eagerness to get as much information as they possibly can. They push me that way from a competition standpoint. Like I'm competing with them trying to give them all they can handle.

"Having as young of a group as it is, you get to mold these guys and that's the beauty of it. And being able to provide them with the tools to create a foundation ... that's the part that really excites me about this year and being able to do it with a bunch of great dudes. That puts the cherry on top."