How Penn State’s running backs push each other in the ‘by committee’ approach
Ricky Slade walked to the bench late in the fourth quarter of Penn State’s 79-7 win over Idaho with a smile on his face. He walked up to Devyn Ford and shared a laugh with his true freshman teammate, and the smile grew even wider.
Slade had plenty of reason to smile as the game clock slowly wound down. He and the rest of the running backs combined for seven rushing touchdowns in the game and 242 rushing yards. Six of the touchdowns and 198 of the yards came from the four running backs expected to carry the load for the Penn State rushing attack: Ford, Slade, Noah Cain and Journey Brown.
Cain and Ford are the greenest backs in the room. Both are true freshmen who had yet to play a game in front of the boisterous crowd that overtakes Beaver Stadium on football Saturdays. Brown and Slade are the veterans in the room. Brown, a redshirt sophomore, and Slade, a true sophomore, had nine games of experience apiece entering Saturday’s opener. For Brown, playing behind former Penn State greats helped him grow as a player, just like playing with his teammates helps him now.
“I’ve been here for almost two-and-a-half years,” he said. “I learned a lot of stuff learning behind Saquon (Barkley) and running behind Miles (Sanders). Even running with Ricky Slade, you learn a lot of stuff, just picking up stuff with the running backs in the room and the coach we have. I feel like we all played really well, and it showed today.”
Brown finished the game with five carries for 38 yards and two touchdowns, along with two receptions that combined for 31 yards. He outgained Slade, who started the game and finished with five carries for nine yards and a touchdown on the ground, and one reception for 26 yards through the air. While Brown may not technically be the starter, he said it doesn’t bother him.
“I don’t care (about starting),” he said. “I’m a team player. If I have to be on kick return and return kicks, if that helps the team win, that’s what I’ll do.”
Brown’s selflessness carries over to how he treats his teammates. The redshirt sophomore was effusive with praise for his fellow running backs, especially for the young Cain and Ford.
“For Devyn and Noah, they matured,” he said. “Coming into a stadium like this, your emotions can get a hold of you. I feel like they choked it down, they pushed it down, and I guess you could say they became men today. They came out ready to play, and they did. They scored, and I feel like this is a really good confidence game. In the future, we’ll start running, going against better teams, and they’ll be more confident going into those games.”
Ford and Cain put on a show in their Beaver Stadium debuts, and, as Brown alluded to, the atmosphere of Beaver Stadium didn’t seem to overwhelm the two true freshmen.
Cain ran for 44 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, while Ford carried the ball six times for 107 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown run for his lone score of the day, and three catches for six receiving yards.
With the quick emergence of Cain and Ford in their freshman seasons, Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford now has four dynamic running backs that will rotate in next to him. The redshirt sophomore said having that level of depth makes everything easier for him.
“Across, the board, Ricky, Journey, Devyn, and Noah, they’ve all worked really hard to be in the spot that they are today,” he said. “To see all of them score, plus (redshirt junior walk-on) Nick Eury, is definitely cool. It takes a lot of weight off my shoulders (because) each guy gives a different look. So it’s going to be tough to stop that.”
Penn State starting center Michal Menet said the talent level of the running back room allows the offense to be versatile.
“It’s really great because there’s no drop-off no matter who’s in there,” he said. “And they all have specific skillsets that are all very good and work well for them.”
That talent level translates to an enjoyable, and competitive running back room, according to Brown. While it may not bother him if he doesn’t start, he said he and the other running backs want to make sure Slade keeps getting better if he wants to hang onto the starting job.
“It’s like a party,” Brown said. “It’s always fun. We have fun in there. We talk smack to each other, but at the end of the day we love each other and always challenge each other and push each other to the limit.”
He added: “We’re always on the starter’s heels. As of right now, that’s Ricky Slade. So me, Noah, Devin, and Nick Eury are always pushing him to not slip up and to better himself.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2019 at 10:27 PM.
