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ORLANDO, Fla. — The big name that was missing a day earlier was Miles Sanders.
Four Penn State juniors had declared for the NFL draft on Wednesday. But Sanders, the Nittany Lions’ leading rusher, had said after the Citrus Bowl that he might take a bit longer to make a final decision.
That came a day later as the junior from Pittsburgh elected to join them, as expected.
Sanders went public with his announcement on Thursday morning, becoming the fifth Lions player to leave early along with offensive linemen Connor McGovern and Ryan Bates and defensive linemen Shareef Miller and Kevin Givens.
“I want to start by saying this decision was not an easy one,” Sanders said in a letter posted on social media. “… I’ve made the decision to forgo my senior year and declare for the 2019 NFL draft. As I prepare for the road ahead, I truly believe this is the best next step for my future.
“Thanks to so many of you, my future is bright and I’ll never forget my home here at Penn State.”
Sanders thanked coach James Franklin and Pittsburgh-area recruiter Terry Smith as well as offensive coaches Ricky Rahne and Ja’Juan Seider and “the entire athletic staff.”
It wasn’t easy for Sanders, a former five-star recruit who was rated the country’s No. 1 running back in the 2016 signing class, to essentially sit for two years behind Saquon Barkley.
As the feature back this fall, he ran for 1,274 yards and averaged nearly 6 yards per carry to go with nine touchdowns.
“So appreciative of Miles and his family for how they handled this entire process,” Franklin said. “Miles is a student of the game and made the most of his opportunities when his time came. He did a great job leading the running back room this season.
“We are very proud of Miles and how he has grown during his entire Penn State career. We are looking forward to seeing what he can do at the next level.”
Seider only worked with Sanders for a year, having been hired as the Lions’ running backs coach last January, but the two hit it off quickly.
“So proud of this guy & everything he accomplished here at PSU,” Seider wrote on Twitter. “Been a class act both on & off the field. All that hard work & sacrifice is about to pay off. Some NFL team just hit the jackpot.”
Sanders has been projected as a mid-round pick in most mock drafts that he has appeared in so far. He has frequently said he wants to be able to provide for his mother, Marlene.
“She’s everything to me,” Sanders said during the season. “I wouldn’t be here without her.”
While Sanders is the highest profile name to leave, the Lions aren’t lacking in options to replace him.
Barkley’s success in college and the pros has helped Penn State continue to attract top-tier talent at the position.
This past month was no different, as the Lions brought in a pair of four-star rushers in Devyn Ford (No. 5 RB, No. 80 overall) and Noah Cain (No. 7 RB, No. 104 overall) in December’s early signing window.
Ford had been committed to Penn State for months, but Cain’s decision to pick the Lions over Texas at the last minute was a pretty strong sign that he didn’t expect Sanders to be on the team in 2019, opening the door for early playing time.
“We’ve got two really good backs that are really mature,” Franklin said on signing day. “(Cain) will be coming in early and (Ford) will be coming in this summer. You know, highly, highly productive guys. Both of them, if you combine their stats, it’s ridiculous. You look at Noah, what he’s been able to do, obviously at (Florida’s IMG Academy) and his high school before that, it’s impressive. It’s impressive.
“We’re pretty fortunate. With Devyn, he had over a hundred touchdowns in high school, so we’re fortunate to get two really good backs coming in here that are also highly competitive guys and both very mature.”
Of course, they’ll have to battle another five-star talent who has eyes on the starting job. Ricky Slade became Sanders’ top backup as a true freshman following an injury to Mark Allen early in the year.
He had a strong start early in the year but was hardly on the field at all from the end of September into November as Franklin said he was “a little nicked up.”
Slade finished with 257 yards and six touchdowns and displayed some tough running along with strong vision and balance, leading former Lions Heisman finalist Larry Johnson to tweet, “True freshman!?!? Welp I enjoyed my records while they lasted,” after a Slade touchdown run against Maryland.
Penn State also has the speedy Journey Brown, who will be a redshirt sophomore, in the mix.
Brown was the second-team running back in Slade’s absence and has two very impressive PIAA records to his name from his days at Meadville High School.
On the football field, he ran for 722 yards and 10 touchdowns in a single game in 2015. On the track, he broke the 32-year old state mark in the 100-meter dash, winning gold in 10.43 seconds in 2017.
And the team also added another big name last year when Notre Dame’s C.J. Holmes transferred into the program. NCAA rules required him to sit out 2018, and he will be eligible to play in 2019.
Holmes was suspended and eventually dismissed by the Fighting Irish in December 2017 after facing misdemeanor shoplifting charges. The former four-star Connecticut native, however, saw those charges dropped by the state of Indiana over the summer.