The Skinny

Height/Weight: 5-foot-10, 212 pounds
Hometown/High School: Bradenton, FL (IMG Academy)
Ranking: ★★★★ (0.9529 247Sports Composite)
Notable Offers: Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas

Highlights

The Tale

When JaJuan Seider joined the Nittany Lion coaching staff, one of the first players that he offered was four-star running back Noah Cain. After picking up a Penn State offer, Cain visited Happy Valley during the spring. He was unable to attend the Lasch Bash in July, but his parents still made the trip to visit campus. At that point, it was clear the Nittany Lions were real players for Cain.

James Franklin and Seider, being the relentless recruiters that they are, continued to chip away at Cain and got him back on campus for an official visit for the Wisconsin game. After the visit, confidence was high in the Lasch Building, and this confidence only continued to grow.

While Cain attends the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, he grew up in both Texas and Lousiana prior to transferring to IMG. Due to this, for much of his recruitment people viewed him as either a LSU or Texas lean, but in the end, Penn State was able to pull Cain away from both schools.

Outlook

Cain has great vision and balance as a runner. His 5-foot-10, 215-pound frame also makes him a bit of a power back which is something Penn State’s running back room currently lacks. He has all the tools needed to be one of the best running backs in the Big Ten, and to make an immediate impact.

After graduating from IMG Academy this month, Cain will enroll at Penn State in January. Getting him into Dwight Galt’s strength and conditioning program five months earlier than he otherwise would will be a big plus for both Cain and the Nittany Lions.

Penn State’s running back room is loaded with talent. Even if Miles Sanders goes pro, the Nittany Lions will still have a great group of running backs with Ricky Slade, C.J. Holmes, Journey Brown, and Cain’s fellow freshman-to-be Devyn Ford. Despite this, Cain will have an opportunity to play as a true freshman. He will benefit greatly from being an early enrollee, and, as mentioned above, his skill set is something no other running back on the roster quite brings to the table.