Preparation played key role in Devyn Ford's promotion to Penn State starting running back

Little has gone as planned for Penn State’s football team in 2020-21.

First, the season did not open until Oct. 24 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Then, hopes of contending for the Big Ten championship, or even a berth in the NCAA’s postseason tournament, dissipated quickly with early losses.

Even the prospect of a winning regular season won’t be realized given Penn State has an 0-4 record and there are only four games remaining on the schedule.

Perhaps the greatest manifestation of how Penn State’s plans have gone so askew has been illustrated at running back.

Journey Brown entered the season as the presumed starter, but a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy forced him to give up the sport.

His backup, Noah Cain, was ready to step in and carry the freight but suffered a season-ending leg injury on the first series of the season opener.

That forced sophomore Devyn Ford to make a pretty immediate surge to first team.

He was ready.

“(Running back coach Ja’Juan Seider) always told me to play like a starter and prepare like a starter,” Ford said during a video conference with media Wednesday. “So throughout freshman year, always preparing, always being in that systematic mentality about it. I was fairly happy about the situation that happened and grateful for it. But also just wishing my (teammates) can get better. But definitely prepared for the situation when I came up for it.

“We had to prepare like a starter from coach Seider’s room in what we do. When you have that mentality about that and you just play and you practice like that, it makes an easier transition to that spot and that role.”

Ford has 207 yards on 53 carries this season while offering two touchdowns. His best performance came during a 30-23 road loss to Nebraska on Saturday, when he rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

“We just were able to just play better,” Ford said of the team’s overall offensive attack in that contest. “We started playing as one, and we started clicking a little bit more. … We had an explosive second half, and it was pretty good. We started playing harder. We started playing smarter.”

Ford hasn’t been much of an element in the passing game with five receptions for 16 yards. He admits that’s an area he is seeking improvement.

“That’s definitely something that I’d like to be part of my game,” Ford said. “I’ve been working on it since high school. It’s about working your hands and just doing different things out of the backfield you can get going. It’s definitely a possibility. I’ve been working on that so when opportunities arise in the future, I’ll be ready.”

Even in the midst of a disappointing season, Ford always seems to be ready. Such was the case when he became the team’s starting running back nearly a month ago.

“I definitely took like a second to realize what’s going on and take everything in,” Ford said. “It was a shock at first because I didn’t know what was going on. I was just playing the game. Then after the game, you see what happens. You think about it and it’s just like, everything happens for a reason. You wish it doesn’t happen. But when it happens in that way, you kind of have to step up in the position to carry on the role.”