Blue White Illustrated

May 2020

Penn State Sports Magazine

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O F F - S E A S O N R E P O R T discussions. But you learn so much by going against your defense every single day in spring practice, and vice versa. So it's challenging, there's no doubt about it. "There are a lot of different proposals being thrown out there, whether it's a longer [preseason] camp, whether it's extra hours that we're able to work with them. There are a lot of proposals right there, but obviously it's hard to tell, be- cause we don't know how long we're going to be in this scenario." The Lions are fortunate to have a re- turning starter in Sean Clifford. He's got 12 games of starting experience under his belt, which should help smooth the transition from Ricky Rahne's offense to Ciarrocca's. The unexpected downtime could prove advantageous to Clifford in at least one respect: He had been work- ing his way back from an unspecified in- jury that slowed him down late last season. If he was dealing with any lin- gering affects of that injury, they'll likely be fully behind him whenever Penn State gets started up again. Clifford is probably one of the few quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Sub- division to share a roof with a Division I- caliber wide receiver, as younger brother Liam is a three-star wideout prospect and a member of Penn State's Class of 2021. But Franklin said he's been urging all of his players to stay indoors as much as possible. "Quarterbacks and receivers throwing the ball, things like that, I don't really see where that fits with where we are as a program and as a country with the virus right now," he said. "I think that needs to take a backseat for the time being." RUNNING BACK If there's one position group on offense where the Nittany Lions don't have a lot of hard decisions to make, it's this one. Journey Brown is coming off a 202-yard afternoon against Mem- phis in the Cotton Bowl. He topped 100 yards in four of his last five games as a redshirt sophomore, and since then he's added 10 pounds of muscle after playing last season at a listed weight of 206. If he can combine that added power with a quick set of wheels, he figures to be even more effective as a junior. Challenging Brown are promising sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford. As a true freshman, Cain finished sec- ond on the team in rushing with 443 yards, while Ford was fourth with 294. Both have added weight over the past few months. Cain was listed at 206 pounds last fall but was up to 223 on the roster that Penn State released in late March, while Ford was up six pounds to 200. Whenever the Lions get around to playing football again, Brown will cer- RAISING CAIN As a true freshman, Cain finished second on the team in rushing with 443 yards. Since then, he's gained 17 pounds and is currently listed at 223. Photo by Steve Manuel

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