Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era

Penn State Football: Top-25 players of the James Franklin Era

It took two years for Miles Sanders to be the main running back for the Penn State football program, but once he got the job, he put together one of the more impressive seasons we have seen from a Penn State running back. After redshirting in his first season on campus, Sanders got some playing time in the backfield, but mostly as a return man, where he set the school’s single-season kick return record with 33 in 2017.

As a back, Sanders scored six times, rushed for nearly 200 yards, and carried the ball on 31 occasions, a small glimpse of what he would do once Saquon Barkley declared early for the NFL Draft. As the feature back, he went absolutely nuts, rushing for nearly 1,300 yards and nine touchdowns, while averaging nearly six yards per carry. He kicked his season off in style too, rushing for two touchdowns against Appalachian State.

For his efforts, Sanders was named second-team All-Big Ten and was No. 2 in the conference in rushing, and No. 15 in the country. He rushed for over 200 yards against Illinois, was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, and his 1,274 yards were the 11th-highest total in a single-season in program history.

The Philadelphia Eagles made him a second-round pick in 2019, and he has become one of the best young backs in the NFL.