STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — For Penn State sophomore running back Noah Cain, being back in State College for voluntary workouts is sanctuary because this pandemic hit a little too close to home, back in Louisiana.
"I had a few family members that had the virus and I seen what it can do to you," Cain explained. "It definitely needs to be taken seriously. This is not a joke. My cousin had it, my auntie had it, my Mama had it. A few people in my family had it from being in Baton Rouge, so I wasn't able to go down there due to my family wanting me to stay away, but all of them are doing better from it now, but just that month and half time frame, it was scary. Some days you don't know if the person's going to make it, honestly. That just taught me to take it more seriously because I'm not going to lie, at first, I was like 'oh, it's a virus. I'm not going to get it,' but as time went on, loved ones close to me started to get it, I started taking it more seriously, taking all the precautions that are needed."
Cain was forced to split time between Arizona and Texas these past few months, and returning to Pennsylvania wasn't something he took lightly.
"Honestly, it was a difficult decision for me to come back just because of the fact that it's so easy to get it from touching somebody, being in the same room as them, especially on a plane," Cain said after returning to campus. "The best thing about being back in State College is it's a small town. So not many people are here, versus the cities I was in. So, I was really talking to my family and they felt like it was best for me to come back up here."
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To be safe – something that still concerns him as a potential season approaches.
"It's definitely in the back of my mind all the time, honestly, just because I had seen how easily my family had gotten it," Cain said. "All it takes it one, but as far as having a season, I'm pretty sure our team doctors are going to do a great job, if we have one, of just making sure everybody's as safe as possible."