Noah Cain is heading to the SEC

It did not take long for former Penn State running back Noah Cain to decide where his next stop will be out of the transfer portal. Cain announced he has committed to LSU with a message on his Twitter account Thursday night after entering the transfer portal just the other day.

Cain will have two years of eligibility with the LSU Tigers. Cain has already played three seasons since his true freshman season in 2019, but he will have an extra year of eligibility for a fifth season granted by the NCAA should he choose to use it in Baton Rouge. The NCAA granted every student-athlete an extra year of eligibility during the COVID pandemic.

Cain appeared in all 13 games played by Penn State in 2021. He finished second on the team with 106 carries for 350 yards. He led the team with four rushing touchdowns.

It has been a tough two seasons for Cain. After a promising freshman season was capped by a strong showing alongside former teammate Journey Brown in the Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis (Cain rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns in the win), Cain was injured early in the 2020 season opener at Indiana after just three rushing attempts for 13 yards. Cain’s injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2020 season.

Entering the 2021 season, Cain was expected to be the lead running back in a dynamic running combo with Keyvone Lee and Baylor transfer Jonathan Lovett. All three were named to the Doak Walker Award watch list prior to the start of the season, but Cain lacked production on the ground for Penn State during the season. After scoring three touchdowns in the first three games of the season, Cain battled injury concerns and never rushed for more than 43 yards in a game since his 45 rushing yards in a win against Auburn.

Cain was a member of Penn State’s Class of 2019. The four-star recruit from IMG Academy chose Penn State over offers from Georgia, Auburn, Florida, and more.

Despite lacking much production to show off the past two seasons, Cain figures to be a solid running back option for LSU. Cain’s shortcomings could be tied to injury concerns and a lack of a solid offensive line blocking for him. LSU, like Penn State, is in need of a big turnaround with its rushing offense in 2022. LSU ranked 114th in the nation in rushing offense last season, averaging 114.08 rushing yards per game (Penn State ranked 118th with 108.0 rushing yards per game).

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