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Odds are that Penn State’s first snap on offense on Saturday at Michigan State will have Journey Brown in the backfield.
The next drive, it might be Noah Cain, who moved up a spot in the Nittany Lions’ relentless running back rotation this past week. Then Ricky Slade. Then Devyn Ford.
There has been a wrinkle or two. A couple of two-back formations here. A major fourth-quarter workload for Cain there.
The exact reasons behind the rotation, however, will remain hidden behind the curtain.
Even as Penn State has exceeded preseason expectations to start 7-0 and take a No. 6 ranking into East Lansing this weekend, fans and pundits are most curious about how Penn State chooses to utilize its running backs.
Coach James Franklin has repeated the same line — “We have four backs that we really like” — for much of the past two months when asked about the situation, one that briefly looked to clear up when Cain put together back-to-back 100-yard games in wins over Purdue and Iowa.
In Penn State’s biggest test so far against Michigan, Cain did end up leading the tailbacks in carries — with five.
When the Lions offense grinded to a halt in the third quarter as the Wolverines grabbed momentum, there would be audible groans from the capacity White Out crowd each time Cain remained on the sideline to open a drive.
On Tuesday, Franklin was asked why there was such a disconnect between what the public was seeing and what the coaching staff had observed.
“Yeah, there’s always things that (reporters) are missing, and that’s no disrespect to you guys,” Franklin said. “But we’re out at practice and in meetings for 16-plus hours a day, and out at practice and watching everything, and you guys get 20 minutes a week to watch practice and just the games. There’s a thousand points that go into decision-making.”
So while plenty of theories have been tossed around about the rotation — Discipline? Injury? Playbook mastery? Blocking or receiving ability? Promises made on the recruiting trail? — the Lions are keeping things to themselves.
“We have four backs that we really like and we’ll continue to play those guys,” Franklin said. “We’re very pleased with Noah. Actually had dinner with Noah (Monday) night. My wife was busting his chops. He’s been great. He’s been really good. We’re as pleased with him as you guys are, and we’re as pleased with him as the fans are, as well. But we also have a lot of confidence in those three other guys, as well.”
It should be noted that it was Slade who actually had the biggest play out of the group against the Wolverines, bolting through a sizable hole in the first quarter without a linebacker in sight and going for 44 yards.
The run nearly doubled his season yardage total from the first six games.
“It felt good, it really felt just good to get back out there running more than 5-yard carries, 8-yard carries,” Slade said. “The hole was actually humongous, I think anybody could’ve ran through it and it just happened to be me in that moment.”
Slade only had two other carries on the night for 48 yards. Brown had 19 yards on four carries, Cain picked up 19 on five, while Ford got one attempt for 2 yards. Slade also had two catches while Brown and Cain had one apiece, but none for more than 6 yards.
For his part, Franklin isn’t concerned about how it’s working out.
“We found a way to get a win last week against one of the more talented rosters in the country, against a really good football program,” Franklin said. “And Noah had a big part in that and will continue to have a big part in that. I think you’ll see his role grow as the season goes on, or you’re going to see another back take some steps, as well. We’ll see.”