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going to handle this thing like he handles everything else. He does it in a first- class way and tries to stay positive and focus on the blessings. And we're going to do the same thing. We don't know what the future holds yet, so we'll see how this whole thing plays out." With Brown sidelined, all eyes turned to Cain. He had shown great promise as a true freshman last year, finishing second on the team in rushing with 443 yards and eight touchdowns despite missing substantial action due to an ankle injury. Early in the 2019 season, Cain had seemed poised to claim the starting spot. In fact, Brown's rise occurred only after Cain got hurt in an early-October visit to Michigan State and got only one carry in the final four regular-season games. When Cain returned to action against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, he was nearly as impressive on his 15 carries as Brown was in his star-making perform- ance. The 5-foot-10, 226-pounder fin- ished with 92 yards and two touchdowns, helping Penn State outlast the Tigers, 53-39. As good as he looked in his return to full health, Cain came away from that game feeling like he could have done even better. "To be honest with you, I was disappointed with my bowl game performance when I went back and watched the film," he said. "There were a few runs where I was like, I could have made a bigger play on that." In the season opener at Indiana, Cain appeared to suffer another setback. He started the game but carried only three times for 13 yards before retreating to the sideline, where he spent the rest of the afternoon. In his place, Devyn Ford, Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee com- bined to rush for 120 yards. Where does that leave the Lions head- ing into the remainder of their eight- game regular-season? It was hard to say following the team's confounding and heartbreaking overtime loss to the Hoosiers. But when linebacker Jesse Luketa was asked a few days before the season opener to assess the progress of Brown's backups, the name that came immediately to his mind was Ford. "He's someone I go to battle with every day, whether it's as a running back, blitz pickup, one-on-ones. We're just getting each other better," Luketa said. "Devyn presents a lot of versatility. He's able to be flexed out in the slot and [run] those routes that you would expect of a slot receiver. He's able to differenti- ate himself from the backs, and I'm ex- cited for what he's going to do this upcoming season and see how he's going to move on and really establish himself." Ford, a 5-foot-11, 198-pound sopho- more, finished fourth on the team in rushing last year with 294 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games. His aver- age of 5.7 yards per carry was second only to Brown's 6.9-yard average among runners with more than a handful of carries. He also caught five passes for 30 yards. Franklin indicated prior to the Lions' season opener that any or all of those players could figure into the team's plans going forward. He credited running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider with building the kind of depth that will enable Penn State's backfield to withstand the loss of a key player. "I think Coach Seider has done a really good job of not only recruiting, but also developing at that position," Franklin For the latest news on Penn State's football sea- son, visit bwi.rivals.com. BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE Brown was the Big Ten's fifth- leading rusher as a redshirt sopho- more, finishing with 890 yards while averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Photo by Steve Manuel

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