Nebraska Football: Talking Penn State with Victory Bell Rings

And so one of the last questions that I had for you specifically was the running game. Obviously Journey Brown had to take a medical leave of absence. He had to retire from football, I believe. And he was also one of the players that I thought coming into this season would give Nebraska troubles. So who does Penn State have at the running back position that Nebraska fans should get familiar with?

That’s a great question. I mean, running back, if we had this conversation in late December after the Cotton Bowl, I would have said, my goodness, we are just the richest backfield, probably in the nation. And I don’t even think it would have been close. We knew that someone was going to transfer, right? You can’t have four-star backs. So Ricky Slade transferred to Old Dominion. That wasn’t really a surprise. But okay, we’re still sitting really good. Well, we lose Noah Cain in the first game. Journey Brown didn’t even play. So it’s like, wait a minute, all of a sudden… We had three or four great backs. Who the heck are our running backs anymore?

So you’re going to see a lot of Devyn Ford. He’s definitely, I mean, he was one of the great four. He’s now the only one left, all right? So we are as thin as can be, in what used to be a great position. So Devyn Ford, he’s definitely the lead back. He’s going to get a lot of carries. We have a couple of freshmen that are going to get a little bit of looks. Could one of them bust off a run, and make a name that you’re going to remember for a couple of years? It’s possible, but it’s going to be Devyn Ford. Devyn Ford is by far the guy you have to look out for. I have to imagine that we’re going to try to really get him running in the beginning, especially with Clifford being a little erratic. I could even see three plays, do we run three straight plays? A draw on third and three? It’s going to be a really get him running.

He’s a good back. There’s no doubt about that. Like I said, we had four great ones. You knew one was going to transfer. The other three just said, hey, they’re going to stick it out here, and the plan was to get them all run. Now there’s only one left. He’s good. I mean, he can play. He’s maybe not quite Journey Brown’s level, but he can play. So I have no issue with him getting the ball. But it’s always the awkward offensive line. Is the running back not doing well, or is the o-line not opening holes? And we’re going to see.

You could also argue some of that’s on the quarterback to relieve the pressure. If Ford can’t get much going you might see a little bit of Lee, and could see Holmes. But they’re not going to do anything that Devyn Ford can’t do. It’s his show. It’s his backfield. I hope it’s a name you live to hate the next couple years, but we’ll see. Obviously I know running back is one of those areas you can never have enough. And boy, did this year prove it. I’ve never seen to go from four to one, just like that. I wish we could get Ricky Slade back. Think he could [inaudible 00:19:48] back for us? I don’t think it works that way. It’s a weird time. Every team has injuries, and COVID world is even weirder. But to have one position hit that hard, it’s just weird. There’s no other way to say it.

So fingers crossed Devyn Ford can get the job done, but for now that’s probably why Clifford is struggling.