UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Keyvone Lee averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season for Penn State -- nothing to sneeze at -- and that was running behind a BAD offensive line.
As a true freshman in 2020, Lee also averaged 4.9 yards per carry.
That's a pretty good number for a tailback's first two seasons of college ball. And again, if you consider that the O-line really was not good at all either year, one might think Lee would be pretty highly thought of heading into year three.
But that's not really the case for a lot of Nittany Lion fans.
I've seen the same type of comment posted on stories here at DKPS about how Lee is "just another guy" at the running back position. Or that there's really no reason to be all that excited about him.
Still, as Penn State gets set to open the season in less than three weeks, it's probably safe to assume that Lee will be the No. 1 tailback for the game at Purdue.
If indeed he is the early starter, another question will remain: How long will Lee be able to stay atop the depth chart, holding off buzz-worthy freshmen Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, as well as sophomore Devyn Ford?
There was another name in that running back mix, until Saturday.
Caziah Holmes, who like Lee was pressed into action as a true freshman in 2020 because of depleted depth, is no longer listed on the Penn State roster, per published reports. A former 4-star recruit, Holmes never seemed to generate a lot of buzz, and now that there is a whole lot of depth at the position, it was inevitable that one or more of the running backs might end up leaving or falling by the wayside.
I caught up with Lee during Penn State media day for a good discussion about his position in the program, his early playing opportunities and what he's capable of doing as a lead tailback.
"Coming here, my goal was always to play, no matter what," Lee said. "I never really had a timeline of when I was gonna play. I was like, whenever I get the chance, I'm just making the most of it. Every chance I get, I'm gonna take advantage of it.
"I didn't really think I would have an early impact just because of the guys in front of me, incredible guys who would have been in the league right now. So, I didn't think I would have played that early, but I just made the best of all my opportunities and just took advantage of them."
The thing about Lee, which has been evident and that many fans have pointed out, is that he just doesn't have great breakaway speed. He's more of a workhorse running back, not the kind of guy who's going to take it the distance from far away.
Because of that, it probably has caused some fans to feel like Lee falls into that "just another guy" category.
When you have players like Singleton, the Gatorade national High School Player of the Year, and Allen, another heralded recruit, now in the same running back room, it stands to reason that fans would want to see those guys as much as possible early on.
But will they be ready to play a tough early schedule that includes road games at Purdue and Auburn? Or, more precisely, will they be more ready than Lee, who already has 197 carries in his career and at least has been in tough situations against quality competition?
He's been the team's leading rusher each of the past two seasons.
Lee rushed for 530 yards on 108 carries with two TDs last year, and also caught 15 passes for 130 yards. As a freshman in 2020, he ran for 439 yards and four TDs on 89 carries, including a 134-yard outburst at Michigan, plus had 12 catches for 66 yards.
No, Lee hasn't been a star running back. And there just might be one or two stars on the roster now with Singleton and Allen. But Lee has done some good things his first two years in college and could be in position to take a big step forward.
"I've made the best of all my opportunities," he said. "So, you give me the ball, my goal is just get first down. I'm not really looking to score. Every time I get the ball, as long as we get the first down, each time we get the first down, it's closer to scoring."
And there it is, really, in a nutshell.
Lee isn't necessarily looking to score, because that's not the kind of back he is. His focus, admittedly, is getting some extra tough yards.
"Right now, I can say just my ability to be physical, like get them extra 2-plus yards when it's needed," Lee said of his strength. "I say that's something that I rely on most of the times. … Falling forward, that's what Coach (Ja'Juan) Seider's thing is, plus-2."
But Penn State and James Franklin love explosive plays, and we've seen a lot of them in the running game in previous years from Saquon Barkley, Journey Brown and others.
Ideally, you'd like to have a primary tailback who can both get you the tough 2 yards at the end of runs AND take one to the house 50 yards.
Can Lee become that guy?
"That's the goal, that's the whole plan," he said. "I feel like no matter which running back is in, from me all the way to Kaytron to Nick to Caz and Dev, any one of us get it, I feel like any one of us can take it for 80, any one can take it for 50. So, I feel like this year is going to be way more explosive plays."
