Penn State Football still eyeing transfer portal: James Franklin takeaways

1. An update on Noah Cain

Before spring ball started, coach Franklin said he hoped that running back Noah Cain would be able to practice during the second half of spring, and it sounds like Cain may even be ahead of schedule.

"Noah has been able to go,” Franklin said. “Not full go, not in live settings, but he is getting reps, which I think has been good. In my mind, I think he’s probably a little bit further ahead than I anticipated him being, so the reps have been good that he’s been able to get.”"

Cain is rehabbing an ankle injury he suffered on the first drive of the season against Indiana, and would be a huge boost to an already loaded backfield for Penn State Football in 2021. As a freshman in 2019, Cain ran 443 yards and eight touchdowns despite a crowded backfield and an injury that sidelined him for four games.

He is a bull with the ball in his hand, a one-cut downhill type of runner who showed flashes of greatness in his first season on campus. Even with the other talent in that room, Keyvone Lee and transfer John Lovett from Baylor, Cain is the lead dog.

A healthy Cain could be an x-factor for the offense as they try and turn it around after a disappointing 2020 season.