Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
4 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M RUNNING BACKS PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern STARTER ★★ When you look at this unit from top to bottom, it appears capable of ranking among the nation's top 25 running back rooms by the time all is said and done. The same can be said of whichever player ends up pacing the backfield. However, it's fair to label the starter unproven, regardless of which contender ends up winning the job. Penn State is likely to start third-year sopho- more Keyvone Lee when it faces Purdue on Sept. 1 in its season opener. Lee has seen action in 22 games to date and was on the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list last fall, but ulti- mately ended with only 530 yards and 2 touch- downs on 108 carries. He flashed at times as a second-year player, and even though he never enjoyed a breakout performance, he remains the logical first option now that Noah Cain has headed off to LSU. Lee is likely to receive some serious competition from newcomers Nick Single- ton and Kaytron Allen, but they're entirely un- proven at the college level. Expect the coaching staff to go with the veteran to kick things off. EXPERIENCE ★★ Of the five scholarship running backs in position coach Ja'Juan Seider's room, three are returnees. That sounds like a hopeful sign, but aside from the intermittent bursts the Lions have seen from Lee, the team's returning running backs haven't been all that productive at the college level. Fourth-year junior Devyn Ford started five games in the shortened 2020 season after Cain went down with a season-ending injury in the opener. However, last fall, he played in just nine of 13 games and started only one. In three seasons, Ford has totaled 629 rushing yards and 6 touch- downs. The other returnee is redshirt sophomore Caziah Holmes. He played in all nine games as a freshman in 2020 and totaled 227 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, the Florida native played in only three games a year ago and took a rare second-year redshirt. Seider has talked about molding him into a complete running back. That may happen this fall, but it's also possible that he'll be passed by someone else in the room. DEPTH ★★★ Few running back rooms anywhere in the country feature five four-star-or-better scholarship running backs. In addition to the returnees, Singleton and Allen have arrived after earning five- and four-star rat- ings, respectively, in high school. Both received heaps of praise from coaches and fellow players during spring practice. Those positive refrains continued at the start of summer workouts. If there is a safe bet going into the season, it's that one of those two will step into a starring role sooner rather than later. OVERALL GRADE ★★ Coming off a disappointing 2021 season, and with two true freshmen in contention for prominent roles, it's hard to think of this as a top-25 backfield going into the season. But it appears to have the potential to become one, and it's led by one of the best position coaches in the game. While some skepticism is called for here, bearing in mind the team's recent struggles on the ground, we're willing to bet that the personnel situation will look better in December than it appears today. BY THE NUMBERS 0 Number of 100-yard rushing performances by Nittany Lion ball carriers during the 2021 season. It's a number that has been emphasized by the coaching staff and players throughout Penn State's offseason. The Lions are highly motivated to ensure that it doesn't happen again. 2 Rushing touchdowns last year by running backs who are returning for the 2022 season. The Lions got 4 rushing touchdowns from Noah Cain last year, but he entered the transfer portal in the offseason and is now at LSU. Keyvone Lee, who will be a third-year sophomore this fall, was the only other running back to reach the end zone for PSU last season, scoring twice. 107.8 Rushing yards per game by Penn State during the 2021 season, the second-lowest mark in the Big Ten. Only Purdue, which rushed for only 84.2 yards per game on 45 fewer carries, was worse last fall. Devyn Ford saw his production decline during the 2021 season, rushing only 14 times for 61 yards in nine games. He had gained 274 yards in six games the year before. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL