James Franklin offers injury recovery update for RB Noah Cain

Earlier this spring, James Franklin said he and the Penn State coaching staff had hopes that running back Noah Cain would resume some sort of on-field activity toward the latter half of spring practice, and those hopes have been fulfilled.

Cain, whose injury in the very first game of the 2020 season against Indiana left him sidelined for the remainder of the campaign, is back taking reps — but with some caveats.

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"Noah has been able to go," Franklin said. "Not full go, not in live settings, but he is getting reps, which I think has been good. In my mind, I think he's probably a little bit further ahead than I anticipated him being, so the reps have been good that he's been able to get."

Cain, who figured to be Penn State's talisman in the backfield in 2020 after a medical issue forced Journey Brown to retire, played just five snaps before his injury. Devyn Ford, Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes manned the Penn State backfield in his stead.

As a true freshman in 2019, he showed plenty of promise and displayed a level of physicality when carrying the ball that impressed fans and coaches alike.

He finished that season with 84 attempts for 443 yards and eight touchdown, despite splitting time and enduring some injury struggles that limited his availability.

"Noah's been doing Noah things," Ford said Wednesday. "He's been working every single day. He's showing good things on the field just like he was before."

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