Penn State football: Where does running back Ricky Slade rank as of now?
The Penn State football program will have a new rushing leader with Ricky Slade in 2019. Where is he currently ranked within the NCAA’s Top-60 backs?
Penn State football might be known as ‘Linebacker U’ but nowadays the nickname ‘Running Back U’ could apply as well. Four years ago, the Nittany Lions allowed their young back, Saquon Barkley debut as the feature back. He made a name for himself in the NCAA by rushing the ball 182 times, collecting over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games.
Then, Barkley was just a four-star prospect from Pennsylvania trying to make a name for himself. Nowadays, the man needs no introduction. Many dubbed Barkley as a ‘once in a lifetime’ type of player, and they might be right. However, Barkley won’t be the only big-name running back to come out of Happy Valley in recent times.
Just last season, Barkley’s successor, Miles Sanders bursted onto the scene during his lone season as a starter. After taking on 202 carries for 1,274 yards and nine total touchdowns, Sanders wasted no time declaring for the NFL Draft where he would eventually become a second-round selection by the Philadelphia Eagles. Just like that, Penn State is left with another season where they are expected to groom another star at the position — now enter Ricky Slade.
Where is Ricky Slade ranked as of right now?
By now, Penn State fans should be familiar with Ricky Slade. Although he wasn’t a feature back for the Lions in 2018, the true freshman still flashed some of his abilities throughout the nine games he played in. Last season, Slade took on 45 carries for 257 yards and six touchdowns. This year, the five-foot-nine-inch, 185-pound Sophomore will headline the backfield.
Nobody knows what to truly expect from Slade, as he has yet to play RB1 for an entire season. However, Athlon Sports surely sees him as a Top-50 running back right now. In a list, which features the Top-60 running backs heading into 2019, Slade appeared on the list at No. 31.
"“Miles Sanders picked up where Saquon Barkley left off and now the Nittany Lions hope for another seamless transition to Slade and the rest of the running backs in Happy Valley. Slade – a former five-star prospect – recorded 257 yards and six touchdowns as Sanders’ backup last fall. Penn State is deep at running back, so there could be more of a committee approach employed in 2019. Even if he doesn’t record 220-240 carries, Slade’s talent is enough to place him on this list.”"
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As mentioned above, competition is stiff in Penn State’s backfield for next season. Regardless of whether the Lions take the supposed committee approach or not, Slade will get his fair share of the workload. And even if he doesn’t take on a large portion of the workload unlike Sanders and Barkley did in the past, we could still expect to see Slade be a touchdown machine in 2019. After all, the Lions do have a first-time starter at quarterback this year. So don’t be surprised if they lean on the run game early on in the year to establish a groove on offense.