Does Penn State Football need to find another Running Back?

Penn State football is getting great production from its running backs, but depth at the position is now an issue.

There was some shock when James Franklin announced after Penn State football’s win on Saturday that running back Devyn Ford is no longer with the team.

Ford, despite being the oldest running back in the room, was the fourth string running back this season. He was quickly passed by true freshmen Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen in Fall camp and had been behind junior Keyvone Lee for a couple years now.

Despite not seeing much playing time, Ford seemed content with his role and showed no signs of transferring. This was not a transfer though, as Franklin noted that Ford is focusing on academics, so he’s not leaving Penn State, at least right away.

Regardless of the reason for Ford’s departure, the reality is Penn State only has three scholarship running backs on the roster. This is a problem for not only the rest of 2022, but also 2023.

While Singleton and Allen will be here next year, there’s no guarantee Lee is. He is draft eligible and may look to move on as the two younger backs continue to receive the bulk of the carries. The Nittany Lions do have a running back commit in the 2023 class in London Montgomery.

The problem is that Montgomery tore his ACL back in August and there’s no guarantee he’s ready for the start of next season. The Nittany Lions definitely need another running back.

With all that said, we’re going to look at solutions for Penn State’s running back depth for both this season and next season.