Noah

Cain

After entering the transfer portal just yesterday, Cain (5'10"/220) has already found himself a home in his hometown of Baton Rouge. With Tyrion Davis-Price having already declared for the NFL Draft, Cain will enter a running back room with a high likelihood of becoming the top back for the Tigers. This past season for the Nittany Lions, Cain rushed for 350 yards and a team-leading four touchdowns.

Cain (5'10/220) was a four-star prospect from the 2019 recruiting class, and was the no. 6 running back of his class according to 247Sports’ composite rankings while ranking as the 98th player of his class overall. Things never quite materialized for Cain during his three seasons at Penn State, as he failed to gain any kind of grasp on the team’s starting running back role, which led to only one season in which he saw 100+ rushing attempts (106 in 20201). During his time at Penn State, Cain amassed 193 carries for 806 yards and 12 touchdowns while also catching 26 passes for another 166 yards. Cain should have a strong market given his former four-star prospect status, a change of scenery may just be what he needs to get the starting role he is likely in search of.

Cain (5'10/220) appears to be good to go, after his reps were limited during the Nittany Lions’ win over Villanova. The sophomore running back, who had just three carries last season due to injury, has rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns on 48 carries.

Cain (5'10/220) didn’t have a great day, but was the focal point of the offense and took on the bruiser role for the team. Anytime they needed short yardage, Cain was sent in and he got the job done for the most part. Cain didn’t find a ton of room and there wasn’t a lot of space to get going. Fellow running back Keyvone Lee made a case for himself to get more touches though. Lee looked the shiftier, harder to bring down back, carrying it eight times for 68 yards and had a number of impressive long runs, including four straight 10+ yard runs to start the third quarter. Cain’s longest run was nine. It will be interesting to see the carry split against Auburn next Saturday.

Cain (5'10/237) was forced to miss most of 2020 after sustaining a leg injury after just three carries. He was restricted in spring practice as Keyvone Lee and Devyn Ford picked up the additional reps. Though the position has a slew of talented options, The Athletic’s PSU beat writer Audrey Snyder thinks Cain still has the upper hand on the starting job and that he should be up to full speed by the time fall camp rolls around. She also thinks the RB2 role is a tight competition between Ford and Lee, with Lee having the slight edge.

Cain (5'10/226) was injured early last season, and with Journey Brown already sidelined, that left the Nittany Lions down two backs after just one game. There’s optimism that the sophomore running back will be able to get some work in during the spring, but HC James Franklin isn’t going to rush Cain back. “So with Noah, we think probably second half of spring ball we’ll get some work out of him,” Franklin said when asked Cain’s availability. “It’s hard to predict how much. Obviously, a lot can change over a three-four week period of time. So we’ll see.” Provided he’s back to full strength, Cain will figure prominently in Penn State’s running back rotation this fall.

Cain (5'10/226) being lost for the remainder of the season hampers the Nittany Lions from a depth standpoint, and they were already without expected starter Journey Brown. It’s unknown whether or not Brown will be able to play at all this season, so Penn State will go into Saturday’s game vs. Ohio State without its two best backs. Devyn Ford and Caziah Holmes will be asked to lead the way against the Buckeyes.

Cain (5'10/226), starting in place of the injured Journey Brown, limped off the field and was taken back to the locker room for further evaluation. The sophomore running back has yet to return, and his absence means that the Nittany Lions are even more inexperienced at the running back position. Devyn Ford stands to be next in line, and freshman Caziah Holmes could get a longer look if Cain is ruled out for the remainder of the game.

“Journey Brown is being treated for a medical condition discovered during the off-season and will potentially miss the 2020 football season,” a Penn State statement said. Brown broke out last year, rushing for 890 yards and 12 touchdowns on 6.8 YPC. The 5-foot-11, 216-pounder with 4.3 wheels -- Brown broke the Pennsylvania prep Class AA 100-meter record in 2017 with 10.43 seconds -- is one of the nation’s best returning backs. In fact, in August, Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked him as the top running back in the 2021 NFL Draft class. His loss would be brutal, but PSU is still stacked with talented runners. Sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford will likely share the load with Brown out. The Nittany Lions open their season at Indiana on Saturday.

With expected starter Journey Brown facing the prospect of missing the entire season due to an undisclosed injury, Cain (5'10/226) is next in line at running back for the Nittany Lions. In ten games last season the sophomore running back rushed for 443 yards and eight touchdowns with an average of 5.3 yards per carry, and Cain’s touchdown total tied the Penn State freshman record set by D.J. Dozier. Cain wasn’t much of a factor in the passing game as a freshman, finishing the year with seven receptions for 52 yards.