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Report: Penn State running back Ricky Slade enters NCAA transfer portal

After rushing for 257 yards and six touchdowns as Miles Sanders' backup as a freshman in 2018, Slade found himself buried behind three other running backs, gaining just 214 yards.

Penn State running back Ricky Slade carrying the ball against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 28.
Penn State running back Ricky Slade carrying the ball against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 28.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Penn State’s Ricky Slade, who was Miles Sanders’ backup as a freshman in 2018 but found himself buried behind three other running backs this past season, has entered the NCAA transfer database, according to a report Wednesday by Al.com.

Slade, a five-star running back when he was signed out of C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Va., carried 47 times last season for 214 yards, the lowest total of the Nittany Lions’ group of four backs. His best game came in the Cotton Bowl win over Memphis when he rushed five times for 58 yards, with a long run of 44 yards.

Slade also caught 12 passes last season for 105 yards.

The 5-foot-9, 198-pound Slade excelled as Sanders’ backup in 2018, rushing for 257 yards and six touchdowns in 45 carries. But the emergence of redshirt sophomore Journey Brown, who finished the past season with a team-high 901 rushing yards, and the addition of freshmen Noah Cain and Devyn Ford left him without much playing time.