STATE COLLEGE — Running back is regarded as one of the deepest positions on the Penn State roster entering the 2021 season, and that depth is reflected by the watch list for the award that is given annually to the nation’s top running back.
Three Nittany Lions running backs — junior Noah Cain, sophomore Keyvone Lee and senior John Lovett — were listed among the 2021 Doak Walker Award candidates, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum announced Wednesday morning.
Penn State enters the 2021 season with a unique backfield situation. All five running backs — junior Devyn Ford and sophomore Caziah Holmes round out the group — have game experience, and given how the Nittany Lions have dealt with injuries at the position, any of the five could end the season as the team’s leading rusher.
Last season, Journey Brown’s career ended before the season because of a heart condition, Cain was injured in the first quarter of the first game and Ford battled some injuries and ineffectiveness down the stretch. That opened the door for Lee to take on a large role as a true freshman, and he took advantage.
Lee finished the 2020 season as Penn State’s leading rusher with 438 yards on 4.9 yards per carry and four touchdowns. Lee’s breakout performance came at Michigan when he rushed 22 times for 134 yards and a touchdown.
Cain entered the 2020 season as Penn State’s top back after Brown could no longer play, but he suffered a leg injury against Indiana in the season opener, and his season was over after three carries for 13 yards. As a freshman in 2019, Cain rushed for 443 yards on 5.3 yards per carry and eight touchdowns, though he also battled injuries then.
Based on video posted to social media, Cain appears to be headed in the right direction in his return from his injury.
Lovett is the largest unknown in the Penn State backfield. Lovett joined the Nittany Lions after four seasons at Baylor, where he rushed for 1,803 yards on 5.1 yards per carry and 17 touchdowns. He was a top back for the Bears in his first three seasons, but he carried only 45 times for 130 yards (2.9 yards per carry) and one touchdown in 2020.
If Lovett rebounds, the South Jersey native could add a new dimension to Penn State’s backfield.
Alabama running back Najee Harris, the Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick, won the Doak Walker Award last season after he rushed for 1,466 yards on 5.8 yards per carry and 26 touchdowns, and he also caught 43 passes for 425 yards and four touchdowns.
Given the depth in Penn State’s backfield and projected rotational usage, it would be hard-pressed to expect any one Nittany Lions running back to approach the numbers needed to win the Doak Walker Award, but the watch list certainly provides a glimpse into the depth coach James Franklin and company have accumulated at the position.
Previously, Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, while safety Jaquan Brisker made the Bednarik Award Watch List. Nittany Lions coach James Franklin made the Dodd Trophy Watch List.
