Penn State football spring positional outlook: Running back

Penn State football spring positional outlook: Quarterback

Penn State’s top rusher from the 2021 season, Keyvone Lee, is back.

The second and third, Noah Cain and John Lovett, are not.

Given their production last season, combined with a smattering of carries for Devyn Ford and Caziah Holmes last season, the significance of those truths is debatable. Finishing the season as the No. 118-ranked team in college football for rushing offense, notching just 107.8 yards per game, much is left to be desired for Penn State in the department.

Ahead of the start of spring practices, their trajectories are central to defining what takes place in the room. 

Here’s a closer look at the situation Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will be working with this spring:

Penn State running back scholarship roster

Devyn Ford – 4th year

Keyvone Lee – 3rd year

Caziah Holmes – 3rd year

Kaytron Allen – 1st year

Nick Singleton – 1st year

Penn State running back spring outlook

By mid-November, Penn State head coach James Franklin had seen enough.

Struggling to move the ball on the ground, the Nittany Lions needed improvement. And though Keyvone Lee had by that point passed Noah Cain in the running back pecking order, work remained. 

Coming off a 50-yard day at Maryland on eight carries, with an encouraging 15-yard carry, Franklin was asked if progress had taken place.

“I think he has been a little bit more decisive (and) I also think we’ve gotten more push. I think we’re being more physical up front at the tight end position and the offensive line positions,” Franklin said. “We want to build on it. I think we made some pretty good steps. 

“We have to get some explosive runs. If you look at our numbers, if we would have a few explosive runs a game, it would change things dramatically. I think that’s the next step for us.”

Explaining that Penn State’s running backs needed to break more tackles, make people miss, and utilize speed to pull it off, Franklin insisted the element was critical to rushing success.

“I think it’s all those things, but when we get one-on-one to safety, we got to be able to make them miss,” Franklin said. ”That’s where the big plays happen.

“There have been a few. Not as many as I would like.”

More than four months after that conversation, Franklin is likely still feeling the same way. 

An element that never materialized for Penn State, the season-ending numbers were stark. At 44 yards, Lee finished with the longest carry of Penn State’s running backs for the season. He tacked on a 33-yard carry in the season-finale at Michigan State and added a 25-yard jaunt against Arkansas in the Outback Bowl. 

Among Penn State’s other returning backs, Devyn Ford’s season-long went for just 12 yards.

Is Lee capable of taking that next step? As a senior, is Ford? 

The unknown

Maybe the biggest wildcard among the returning running backs, Caziah Holmes finished with just five carries for 27 yards during a redshirt last season. The effort came amidst a crowded backfield for Penn State last season but followed a true freshman season in which he finished with 51 carries for 227 yards and two touchdowns, including a 36-yard run. 

Out of view for Penn State fans, but very much an active part of the day-to-day activity of the team and running backs, Holmes’ progress was on display according to Lovett.

“I see him developing,” Lovett said late last year. “Caz is pretty big too. You guys talk about Keyvone, but Caz has good size on him too. He’s a strong guy, he’s fast, and he has good feet. Caz is getting better every day. 

“I honestly think he knows (the redshirt is) probably best for him. He’s learned a lot from us and I think Caz is going to be a problem next year.”

This spring, Holmes will look to bring that potential to fruition.

The newcomers

Penn State’s returning running backs won’t be the only ones eager to impress this spring.

Filling the vacancies created by the absences of Cain and Lovett, Penn State will feature two of the top running backs in the Class of 2022 in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. 

The optimism for both is high. 

“I don’t know if there is a better running back class signed in the country,” Franklin said in December. “And Nick being named Gatorade National Player of the Year is pretty cool.

“Every guy we recruit, we recruit with the mentality that they’re going to come in and play. The higher they’re regarded, the fact that he’s coming in mid-semester, both these guys, that helps with that. They’ve still got to go out and earn the job and things like that. But both of them have a really impressive background, and being here at mid-semester, those things help.”

Initial feedback has been positive to that end.

Standing out during the team’s winter training, the spring session offers the first opportunity to turn heads. 

 “We’ll see how it plays out,” Franklin said. “We’re super excited about getting them. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it should be exciting.”

Walk-on notes

Transfer walk-on Tank Smith returns for his fourth season of college ball. Last season, the 5-foot-7, 225-pound back finished with four carries for five yards.