Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1294210
versity. There were highlights, but it was also a learning experience for me just to understand the highs and lows of college football. It was a humbling experience." Finally returning to a feature role in the Nittany Lions' 53-39 Cotton Bowl win against Memphis on Dec. 29, Cain broke through for 92 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. It was a return to form that running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider said he had always anticipated, and it marked a jumping-off point for the true freshman heading into the off-season. "It was him just getting healthy, being back to the guy that we saw early in the year," Seider said. "You get those nicks and muscles, and sometimes they take a long time to heal. It's just a process, espe- cially with a kid who's as powerful as he is and runs the way he does, and he just took the time to get healed. I think getting him back in the bowl game got his confi- dence back." With the Big Ten's fall season post- poned, and now back on track for an Oc- tober start, the question now is what becomes of that confidence. Prevented from practicing this past spring due to COVID-19, Cain and the rest of the Nit- tany Lions returned over the summer for informal work- outs that led up to the start of preseason practice in Au- gust. Those practices were halted just days into presea- son camp thanks to the de- cision of the Big Ten presidents and chancellors to postpone the 2020 sea- son. Like its conference brethren, Penn State found itself having to cram its lifting, film study, position meet- >> NOAH CAIN GAME-BY-GAME RUSHING RECEIVING OPP ATT GAIN LOSS NET AVG TD LONG REC YDS TD LONG Idaho 9 45 1 44 4.9 2 9 0 0 0 0 Bu3alo 1 2 0 2 2.0 1 2 0 0 0 0 Pitt 6 40 0 40 6.7 1 13 1 13 0 13 Maryland 7 18 1 17 2.4 0 6 1 9 0 9 Purdue 12 105 0 105 8.8 1 27 3 25 0 20 Iowa 22 102 0 102 4.6 1 12 0 0 0 0 Michigan 5 22 3 19 3.8 0 13 1 3 0 3 Michigan State 6 21 0 21 3.5 0 8 1 2 0 2 Minnesota DNP Indiana DNP Ohio State 1 1 0 1 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Rutgers DNP Memphis 15 92 0 92 6.1 2 15 0 0 0 0 TOTAL 84 448 5 443 5.3 8 27 7 52 0 20 BOWLED OVER Cain returned to action against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, finishing with 92 yards in the Lions' victory over the Tigers. Photo by Steve Manuel