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sudden emergence put him in position to succeed Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders as the next great Penn State run- ning back, and most likely join them at football's highest level. "I finally had the opportunity to showcase what I was born to do," he said, "and, hopefully, set myself up to achieve my lifelong dream of play- ing in the NFL." That dream will go unrealized, and its dissolution was a blow to the entire team, not just Brown. "I think that's what made this news so hard on everybody," Franklin said. "We knew what type of player he could be for Penn State, but also for his future. You come in as freshman and you don't pass the physical, and that's hard to go through. As much success as he's had, it makes it even more challenging. You just feel for the kid. He's a special kid." Even with Brown out of ac- tion, Penn State appeared capable of fielding an effec- tive running game this fall. The Nittany Lions went into their opener at Indiana with four former Rivals.com four-star prospects on the depth chart; in fact, of the five scholar- ship players on Penn State's preseason depth chart, Brown was the lowest-rated, having received only three stars from Ri- vals coming out of Meadville. But, improbably, Penn State's luck turned even worse on opening day. Soph- omore Noah Cain, the team's second- leading rusher last year and Brown's replacement in the starting lineup, went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury on Penn State's first offensive se- ries at Indiana. A few days later, Franklin announced that Cain would miss the rest of the season. Sophomore Devyn Ford came on in relief against the Hoosiers, with true freshmen Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee backing him up. That arrangement remained in place for three games, but then Ford got hurt in the first quarter against Iowa and didn't return, leaving only the two newcomers. The problems at the top of the depth chart have had a big impact on the course of Penn State's season. Through the team's first five games, Ford had compiled modest numbers, gaining 209 yards on 56 carries. Holmes and Lee had seen limited action, totaling 43 carries for 196 yards between them. As a team, Penn State was ninth in the Big Ten in rushing offense at 139.0 yards per game. That wasn't any- where near what was anticipated this sea- son with Brown and Cain spearheading the ground game, but at least the path forward was clear as Penn State headed into the second half of its abbreviated season. Said Seider, "This ain't the NFL. We can't go sign guys off the street. We've got what we've got, and we'll get better with them. "You've got to be consistent," he con- tinued. "It starts with practice. Getting them to take a rep and make it gamelike, because that's the area where you've got to see improvement – how to finish a run, when the whistle's blown you don't stop, you continue to play. I think a lot of peo- ple don't understand, it's not just handing the football off. You've got to teach these kids situational football they never heard about, like a two-minute, a four-minute, a red zone, a low red zone, how to pick up a block. It's like, I can't tiptoe, I've got to meet that guy at the point of contact, and the low man is going to win. "The football terms have got to become second nature to them. It's like shooting a free throw. When you shoot it over and over and over again, it becomes muscle memory for a free throw shooter, right? Same with playing this game of football, because right now you're not the best player on the field, so your details have got to continue to take over." IN A RUSH Holmes is one of two true fresh- men who have been called on to play much bigger roles this season due to attrition in the backfield. Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics >>

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