PSU’s Cain out for the season with injury
Penn State has lost another player who figured prominently in their 2020 plans.
Sophomore running back Noah Cain will miss the rest of the season, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said Tuesday.
Although Penn State has a policy of not disclosing specifics, Cain suffered an injury to his left ankle or foot on his third carry against Indiana early in the first quarter of Penn State’s 36-35 overtime loss. He was seen wearing a protective boot on the sideline in the second half.
“Love Noah and (have) so much respect for Noah,” Franklin said during his weekly press conference. “He really had an unbelievable offseason and worked really hard for this opportunity.”
Cain started against Indiana in place of junior Journey Brown, who might miss the season with an undisclosed medical condition. Brown and Cain were the Lions’ top two rushers last
year, combining for 1,356 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Without Brown and Cain, sophomore Devyn Ford is slated to make his first career start when No. 18 Penn State (0-1) faces No. 3 Ohio State (1-0) Saturday night at 7:30 at Beaver Stadium (TVABC, WEEU-AM/830).
Ford carried 20 times for
69 yards and one accidental touchdown late in regulation at Indiana. He ran 52 times for 294 yards and two scores last season as a true freshman.
“You’re going to have to change your mentality,” Franklin said about Ford. “It’s one thing when Noah was the starting back and
Devyn was going to rotate in and be a complementary piece to now being the guy. I think he’ll grow into that.
“There’s no doubt that he has the talent to do that. There’s no doubt that we believe in him, but there is a difference between being the lead dog and a rotational piece.”
Ca zia h Holmes and Keyvone Lee, a pair of highly regarded true freshmen, will back up Ford. They both played at Indiana, Holmes carrying five times for 16 yards and Lee six times for 35 yards.
“T here’s an expectation in that room to be great with Saquon (Barkley) and Miles (Sanders) and JB (Brown) and all the other guys who left a legacy there,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “Coach (Ja’Juan) Seider has done a great job of upholding that standard.
“The young guys have really embraced that and have come into work every single day. I’m excited to see what Devyn does this week and the same with Keyvone and Caziah.”
On the f lip side, Penn State might see an unnamed player who had a false positive test for COVID-19 last Saturday morning return to action.
Franklin didn’t identify the player, but sophomore wide receiver Cam Sullivan-Brown was listed as the starter for the Indiana game and did not play. He’s listed as the starter in this week’s depth chart.
“We had a young man who wasn’t able to play because of a false positive test on Saturday morning,” Franklin said. “His dad called and was very upset, more upset about his son and just hurting for his son. We talked it through. He understood.”
The Lions might have Sullivan-Brown back, but they won’t have Brown, Cain and Micah Parsons, who opted out in August, to face Ohio State. Brown and Parsons were the outstanding offensive and defensive players in the Cotton Bowl.
“We came into the season with our running back room considered maybe one of the strongest in the country,” Franklin said. “And now, at least at this time, we’ve lost Journey Brown, and Noah Cain. So those guys are going to need to step up and be ready to play.
“We have to create a little bit more explosive plays. That was something that we felt like Journey and Noah were going to bring to the table for us.”