Penn State RB Noah Cain enters transfer portal

It appears Penn State Nittany Lions junior running back Noah Cain has carried his last football as a member of the program. 

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and others reported Wednesday that Cain has entered the NCAA transfer portal and intends to leave Penn State. It's an unfortunate conclusion to a partnership that appeared promising back in 2019 when Cain rushed for 443 yards and an impressive eight touchdowns on 84 carries as a freshman in 2019. However, that proved to be his best season while at the university. 

Cain went down to a season-ending injury after just three carries in the 2020 campaign opener against the Indiana Hoosiers, and he then failed to find consistency throughout this past fall. Per ESPN stats, he finished the 2021 season second on the Nittany Lions with 350 rushing yards and 106 attempts but led the team with four scores on the ground. 

As Daniel Gallan noted for Penn Live, head coach James Franklin said Cain was banged up during a portion of the campaign. Meanwhile, Keyvone Lee became Penn State's leading rusher with 530 total yards and an average of 4.9 yards per attempt. 

According to Patrick Conn of LSU Wire/USA Today, Cain is a native of Baton Rouge who was linked with the LSU Tigers for the 2019 class and could potentially complete a homecoming. Meanwhile, Mark Wogenrich of All Penn State recently reminded fans that Franklin and company will need better from the team's offensive line if its rushing attack is to be prime-time ready by September.