STATE COLLEGE — There were two instances earlier this season where Penn State picked a running back and leaned on him. Junior Noah Cain rushed 20 times for 69 yards and a touchdown in the win over Ball State. A week later, he carried 19 times for 45 yards and another score to help polish off Auburn.
But other than that, it’s been rare for a Nittany Lions running back to reach double-digit carries, and if he does, he’s rarely gotten close to 15.
That changed during Penn State’s 21-17 loss to Michigan at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Sophomore Keyvone Lee carried 20 times for 88 yards, tying Cain’s season high for carries for a running back and setting a team season high in rushing yards. And in the process, Lee showed he could be a reliable rushing option for Penn State moving forward.
“I feel like I was more on my details today,” Lee said after the game.
For Lee, the “details” were his footwork and hand placement, along with following the movement of the offensive line in front of him better. That manifested in the 6-foot, 239-pound Lee consistently falling forward.
He was stopped for a negative loss just once against Michigan. That was an issue earlier this season when he tried to bounce runs to the edge and lost yards instead of taking a sure gain, even if it was minimal.
Lee felt like he was able to get into a rhythm during the game.
“Just really my running style,” Lee said. “I can make you miss or I can just run you over, so it really doesn’t matter what I do, it’s just what I do at the moment and how I do it.”
Lee has had success against these Wolverines before. A year ago, he rushed 22 times for 134 yards and a score as a true freshman in a road win. Those types of running performances have been nonexistent for Penn State this season, but Lee came the closest to replicating it Saturday.
Still, there were areas where Lee wants to improve. He had a tough drop out of the backfield in the third quarter on a swing pass, and the running game’s struggles earlier this season influenced coach James Franklin’s decision-making to take the ball out of Lee and company’s hands.
When Penn State faced a fourth-and-goal at the Michigan 2 in the first quarter, Franklin called a field goal that ended in disaster. After the game, Franklin cited the team’s short-yardage struggles — the Nittany Lions had already begun leaning on a package with tight end Tyler Warren in those situations — as a reason why he called the fake field goal.
“I don’t really try to focus on that because that comes with emotions and emotions can throw you off your game,” Lee said. “So I just try to control what I can control and do what I got to do to help the team.
“Everybody wants to [stay on the field]. If you’re a back in that situation, especially if it’s what you’re known for, you want to. But you know you have to control what you can control and just help the team in any way I can.”
Fifth-year senior John Lovett was the only other running back to get a carry — he rushed four times for 17 yards — though juniors Noah Cain and Devyn Ford each made cameos for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State entered the season with a deep running back room and a group of seasoned offensive linemen. The thought was that the ground game would carry the Nittany Lions offense, not the arm of quarterback Sean Clifford. That hasn’t been the case in 2021.
But Lee showed a glimpse of what he can provide to the Penn State offense when he gets the ball on a consistent basis. And while there’s only two games left in the regular season, Lee could have the chance to showcase himself as a building block for the Nittany Lions running game of the future.
“I understand there’s balance,” Lee said. “I control what I can control, and if I get the opportunity, I just take advantage every time I get the opportunity.”
