Penn State football: Crowded running backs room battling for starting job

Penn State football will have a tough decision to make regarding its running backs before its season opener on Sept. 4. The Nittany Lions are still trying to land on a starter, according to the Reading Eagle.

John Lovett transferred to Penn State from Baylor this offseason. He will battle Noah Cain, Devyn Ford, Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes for the job. All but Holmes have starting experience in college.

Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider was clear he sees this as a blessing, not a dilemma.

“The dilemma is when you don’t have that depth and one of those guys goes down,” he said. “Who do you go to? I always tell them you get what you earn. If a guy is clearly better than everybody else, he’s going to be the guy. If two guys are close, we gotta play them. If there’s another one close, we gotta play him.

“Remember ’19? We played four running backs (Brown, Cain, Ford and Ricky Slade). They all deserved to play. To me, that was the hardest job. By the grace of God, the kids made it work. This could be harder.”

Lovett led Baylor in rushing from 2017-19. The New Jersey native was a 3-star prospect coming out of high school.

Lee led Penn State with 438 yards rushing and four touchdowns this past season. Ford was the next best running back with 274 yards and three touchdowns.

Coach James Franklin said this will be a committee situation. He would like to narrow it down to three main backs before the season starts.

“We’re big believers that we’re gonna play three backs,” Franklin said. “I think it’s hard to play four. You better have a fourth ready because one of those three will get dinged up. We’re trying to figure out who the top three will be.

“I think we have one of the stronger running back rooms in the country. Ja’Juan has done a great job of coaching, developing and recruiting at that position. They’re really good guys. They work well together. They challenge each other.”

Cain rushed for 443 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman, but suffered a season-ending foot injury in the season opener against Indiana in 2020. His return to the field is a huge boost for the Nittany Lions.

Lovett also missed time at Baylor last season with injuries. He said he feels the competition has pushed him to become an even better back. Whoever wins the starting job won’t have the backfield all to himself, and there is some comfort in that.

“Pffft, there’s so much talent,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent. We all compete every day. We push each other. All that’s going to do is make everyone else better. The best man will win the job and the best man will help the team win games.”