P L A Y E R B I O S
ond-team All-American both seasons
and
won a share of the Ascenders' O;en-
sive MVP award as a senior. He was also
selected to play in the Under Armour All-
America
Game. During his two seasons at
the school, IMG :nished second and
third, respectively, in the MaxPreps :nal
national high school rankings.
WHERE HE VISITED Cain's list of suitors
included schools from all of the Power Five
conferences. A cousin of former LSU and
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver
Michael Clayton, he was pursued by
schools in the Southwest (Arizona, Arizona
State), Southeast (Georgia, Clemson),
Northeast (Penn State), Midwest (Ohio
State, Michigan), and all points in between.
Cain's four :nalists were Penn State, Texas,
Georgia and Tennessee. The Nittany Lions
had extended their o;er in January 2018
but didn't become serious contenders until
late
April, when Cain and his father, Ter-
ence, made an uno, Penn
State does not have an abundance of ex-
perienced players in its running back
room, and there's reason to believe fans
will see some shu=ing in the back:eld
in 2019.
Ricky Slade appears to be the heir ap-
parent to Sanders as the feature back,
but Cain will also have an opportunity to
get some touches early in his college ca-
reer. Cain's father sees him :tting in well
in his new surroundings, even though
the transition has meant trading the
palm trees and gulf breezes at IMG for
the frigid temperatures of a central
Pennsylvania winter.
"With Noah being at IMG, he's been
away from home, so it's not like it was
something that was going to be hard for
him to become accustomed to," Terence
Cain said. "A lot of times, if you want to
do unique things, if you have to leave,
you have to leave."
Now that he's on campus and already
has a jump start on learning the play-
book and developing under Penn State's
coaching sta;, Cain should be poised to
:nd a role as a freshman. One of his best
attributes as a high schooler was his
strength and willingness to look for
contact, so the 5-foot-10, 209-pounder
could bring a running style that no
other Penn State running back can pro-
vide.
He also showed potential as a pass
catcher, :nishing his senior season with
230 receiving yards. Regardless of what
role Cain is able to carve out for himself
early on, his father is sure Noah will
continue to progress at Penn State.
"In anything you do, constantly
improving your cra> in all areas [is
important]," Terence Cain said. "You
can always look at something and cri-
tique it. There's always something you
critique when you watch :lm. You
stay a student, you stay watching
:lm, you continue to get
stronger, none of that stu;
ever stops. None of the
basic fundamentals ever
stop. You continue to
improve. When you
think your game has
reached its peak, it's
time to hang
your cleats
up."
■
NOAH
CAIN
Rivals.com
