Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1410640
set a record for Penn State true fresh- men with eight rushing touchdowns in 2019 — a record he established de- spite missing four games with an ankle sprain. But after sustaining what run- ning backs coach Ja'Juan Seider de- scribed as a "freak injury" against the Hoosiers last year, Cain said he refo- cused his energies on what it would take to become the type of player he wanted to be. The examination revealed to Cain the necessity of behaving, in every facet of his life, as if he were already the profes- sional he someday hopes to become. "I had to focus on my body, so I just really started to hone in on eating more, the foods I put in my body, how to train, how I stretch, and just how I prepare. I just want to prepare like a pro," Cain said. "I just feel like I'm a whole lot more mature and a better student of the game right now, which has helped the game slow down for me and just helped me prepare better." Cain also expressed his excitement, and relief, to have made it through his first game back on the field. Stifled in the first half against the Badgers, he came alive with the rest of the Nittany Lions' offense in the third and fourth quarters. To get to that point, though, he ac- knowledged that he needed to rely on the lessons he had absorbed during his time away. Cain was held to 3 yards on two car- ries in the first quarter, part of an effort in which Penn State failed to exceed 50 yards of total offense and secured just one first down. It was a sluggish start, and Cain admitted that at an earlier point in his career, he might have found it dif- ficult to stay in the right frame of mind. "The younger me would have been more frustrated not having as many car- riers in the first half and letting that get in my head. That would affect me handling my business in other plays on the field," he said. "But understanding that aspect of the game, just being ready whenever your number is called, just doing anything that the coaches are asking of me, I think that just helped me have that patience and trust when the coaches told us that in the second half we're going to get together and get the chemistry going." Penn State senior quarterback Sean Clif- ford left no room for misinterpretation. He said heading into the start of the season that he's college football's most confident quar- terback, and for that he has his supporting cast to thank. "I can really say that I'm the most confi- dent quarterback in the country because of the guys around me, the way I've prepared, and the way everybody else has prepared," he said. Clifford issued that declaration in response to a question about the impact that new of- fensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has made since his arrival. Yurcich takes a demanding approach to coaching his quarterbacks, yell- ing out critiques and praise at practice. He is, as Clifford described him, a thermostat, not a thermometer. Sean Clifford's Rapport With Mike Yurcich Helps Fuel Penn State Offense After missing virtually the entire 2020 season, Cain looked good in preseason practice and came away feeling hopeful about his chances of being an impact player this fall. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER 3 4 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M