Injuries derailed what looked to be a promising Penn State career for running back Noah Cain, who is looking for a fresh start after entering the transfer portal on Wednesday.
                                 Chris O’Meara | AP file photo

Injuries derailed what looked to be a promising Penn State career for running back Noah Cain, who is looking for a fresh start after entering the transfer portal on Wednesday.

Chris O’Meara | AP file photo

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<p>New Penn State wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley (5) caught 14 touchdowns in Western Kentucky’s pass-happy offense in 2021.</p>
                                 <p>Eric Gay | AP file photo</p>

New Penn State wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley (5) caught 14 touchdowns in Western Kentucky’s pass-happy offense in 2021.

Eric Gay | AP file photo

The new semester at Penn State began this week. As expected, not everyone will be returning to Happy Valley.

January signals plenty of comings and goings for football transfers, and Wednesday was the first big day for Penn State with former starting running back Noah Cain entering his name in the transfer portal and Western Kentucky wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley officially joining the Nittany Lions.

Rivals.com first reported that Cain had entered the portal.

Changes in Penn State’s running backs room was fully expected after the Lions struggled to find any consistency on the ground in 2021 between Cain, Keyvone Lee and John Lovett.

Cain was returning to the field after suffering a serious foot injury that wiped out his entire 2020 season. By Week 3 last fall against Auburn, coach James Franklin said Cain was playing through another injury.

The combination of those ailments, a struggling offensive line and a third offensive coordinator in as many seasons led to a rushing offense that finished 118th out of 130 teams nationally at 107.8 yards per game.

Cain appeared in all 13 games for the Lions but ran for just 350 yards and four touchdowns on 106 carries.

“Of course it wasn’t the year I wanted to have or planned on having,” Cain told reporters in Tampa before the Outback Bowl. “But I’m just looking forward to having a full offseason, being healthy and going into it with my head down and getting back to the player I know that I am.”

That could end up happening in another part of the country. Cain is a Louisiana native who has also lived in Texas and Florida, finishing his high school career at IMG Academy in Bradenton. A late addition to Penn State’s 2019 recruiting class, the Lions nearly lost Cain to a late push by Texas on signing day, as Franklin and running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider had to sway him back to the Lions.

It paid off almost immediately, as Cain was a big-time performer as a true freshman, with his full-effort running style producing game-winning touchdowns against Pitt and Iowa.

But just as he was establishing himself as the Lions’ top option, he was injured in a game at Michigan State, keeping him on the sideline for nearly the rest of the regular season. He was set to be the Lions’ lead back in 2020 but went down on the opening drive at Indiana that year and didn’t play again until this past fall.

Keyvone Lee ended up leading the Lions in rushing in both 2020 and 2021, rushing for 530 yards this past season. Lee, Devyn Ford and Caziah Holmes remain on the roster for now, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more movement at the position. The Lions signed Gatorade National Player of the Year Nick Singleton as well as another IMG standout in Kaytron Allen last month.

Tinsley joins Lions

Penn State’s first addition from the portal comes from Conference USA as the school announced Tinsley had joined the roster. He had previously announced his intention to transfer to Penn State back on Christmas Eve.

Tinsley, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound wideout from Lee’s Summit, Mo., was part of a record-smashing passing game at Western Kentucky last season. Tinsley caught 87 passes for 1,402 yards and a whopping 14 touchdowns — and wasn’t even the leading receiver on his team.

Hilltoppers quarterback Bailey Zappe made NCAA history by breaking Joe Burrow’s single-season touchdowns record with Tinsley and Jerreth Sterns as the top targets.

Tinsley caught nine passes for 173 yards and two scores in the C-USA title game and followed it up with seven grabs for 103 yards and two more touchdowns in a bowl game win over Appalachian State.

The Lions are looking for some immediate help in trying to replace a prolific receiver of their own in Jahan Dotson, who is headed to the NFL. Tinsley will push for playing time along with returning starters Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith.

Konigus eyes opportunity

Former Lake-Lehman standout Kaleb Konigus made his college debut in November. Now he could be in line for a bigger role at a different school.

Konigus, a walk-on who has spent the past four years at Penn State after a successful football and wrestling career for the Black Knights, has entered his name in the transfer portal, according to Lions247.

An offensive lineman, Konigus was honored during the senior day ceremony before playing Rutgers at Beaver Stadium and got on the field at left guard in the fourth quarter.

Lions’ schedule updated

Penn State’s brutal start to the season got a little bit easier on Wednesday. The Big Ten rearranged the conference slate for 2022 on Wednesday, and the Lions will now have some of their toughest games spread out.

Penn State was originally set to open October by hosting Ohio State and traveling to Michigan the next week, a back-to-back gauntlet that few teams in history have been able to navigate. Both games were scheduled before the Lions’ bye week.

Instead, Penn State will now play Northwestern on Oct. 1, then have their bye week before taking that road trip to Michigan on Oct. 15. The Buckeyes game is now set for for Oct. 29 at Beaver Stadium.

The original schedule also called for a game against Michigan State on Oct. 29, putting perhaps the Lions’ three toughest games all in October. The revised slate has the Spartans moved back to the final week on Nov. 26.

Northwestern replaces Illinois on the original schedule. All other opponents remain the same.