Penn State's Noah Cain Ready to Build on Lessons of Freshman Season
Noah Cain’s biggest lesson from his freshman season at Penn State was one not many would envy.
He learned how to deal with injury, to sit on the sidelines with a nagging ankle knock while Penn State fans wondered why he wasn’t on the field.
“It was very taxing,” Cain said in a recent Zoom conference. “I didn’t miss games really since my freshman year in high school, so it was really hard for me to just sit back on the sidelines and have to wait my time to get back healthy.
“I’d try to get back, get back, get back, and the ankle still wasn’t right. The training staff did the best job that they could, just trying to make sure I was good mentally and physically. Ankle injuries, sometimes it takes time to heal. You can’t rush your body back.”
After back-to-back 100-yard games against Purdue and Iowa, Cain carried the ball just 12 times over the course of the next six games due to his injury.
He returned in full for the Cotton Bowl against Memphis, just in time for an explosive effort in the running game by the Nittany Lions. He contributed 95 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, while Journey Brown ran for 202 yards and two scores as Penn State put up 53 points.
It was a showcase of the depth of talent the Nittany Lions have in the backfield, even after the departure of Ricky Slade, who will reportedly join former Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne at Old Dominion.
“I think from top to bottom, it’s really the model that we want in every position throughout our program,” James Franklin said. “Those guys really work well together, Ja’Juan [Seider]’s done a really good job with the entire group. They support each other, they’re friends with each other, they mentor each other, but they’re also competing with each other.”
Now, Cain knows he can use that bowl performance as a platform to build on.
His freshman learning curve was similar to that of most rookie ball-carriers, with Cain needing time to acquire the knowledge needed to play running back at the college level.
“I feel like the game is slowing down for me,” he said. “Understanding coverages, blitz concepts. Last year, my eyes were all over the place when I would go back and watch film. Even when I was running, I was really just playing ball, honestly. My main goal is that the game slows down for me this year so I can make more plays when my number’s called.”
In total, Cain rushed for 443 yards on 84 attempts last season, for an average of 5.3 yards per carry, while showcasing a physical running ability that complements the finesse and speed of Brown and Devyn Ford.
He said he doesn’t have specific expectations as far as carries or playing time for next season, but will be ready when his number is called, confident that he used his freshman season to make an impression on Penn State’s coaching staff that they won’t soon forget.
“Everybody always had a narrative that, ‘Oh, you’re too young, you’re not mature enough to play early,’” Cain said. “I didn’t want to have that on my name. That was really big, avoiding that, so I was always going to make sure that I showed the coaches my maturity off the field as well as on the field, not fumbling the ball, doing what I’m supposed to do, and just not having minor issues off the field. The smallest details that you might miss can affect your playing time.”
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