Penn State football backfield will feature all four running backs
Ricky Slade will lead the Penn State football backfield, but he won’t carry the load alone.
Penn State football is well on their way to establishing themselves as Running Back U. Obviously, it all started with the phenomenal three-year career of Saquon Barkley. The current New York Giants rusher dominated the Big Ten and the NCAA as a whole for at least two years before getting selected second-overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Following Barkley’s stint, Miles Sanders received the opportunity to lead the backfield alone like Barkley did and he had quite the impressive season as well. Instead of sticking around for another year to improve his draft stock though, Sanders decided to enter the NFL Draft with minimal miles put on his body at the collegiate level.
Now, the Nittany Lions are moving on with their backfield this year, and it looks like redshirt Sophomore Ricky Slade will lead the pack. It comes as no surprise considering that Slade garnered carries when Sanders was taking a breather last season. So naturally, the five-star prospect pops up as the No. 1 back on the depth chart. However, he won’t do it all alone this season.
The Backfield Depth Chart
With the Nittany Lions preparing to face Idaho to kick off the 2019 NCAA Football season, the official depth chart has been released. First on the chart comes as no surprise, as Slade won the overall camp battle. Second though, happens to be the freshman, Noah Cain.
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Based off of Head Coach, James Franklin’s excitement for Journey Brown, it seemed like the freshman was going to have to take a backseat to the redshirt Sophomore. That’s not the case, though. Instead, Brown will appear third on the depth chart, while Devyn Ford places fourth.
Regardless of position though, all four of these guys are expected to have a role. As Coach Franklin met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the final depth chart decisions, and this week’s game, he made it very clear that all four guys will get work at some point.
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Don’t get it confused though — the ‘committee’ approach that many assumed Penn State would take isn’t what we think precisely. Since Slade places first on the depth chart, there’s a good chance he dominates in carries. But just because he will most likely get a ton of the work, doesn’t mean the other three get left behind. Carries will be split, and everybody has a role.
Franklin mentioned that rolling with the ‘hot hand’ could play a part in who gets carries. Also, they will strategize based off of what their opponent’s defense shows on film. Being that they have four different backs who don’t all have identical styles, the Lions can get creative with the rotation, which will benefit all four guys in the long run by keeping them healthy and fresh.