Ricky Slade is officially set to reunite with his former offensive coordinator in Virginia.

Slade announced Friday that he’ll transfer to Old Dominion. A former five-star recruit out of Virginia, the running back entered the transfer portal this past February after his second season in Happy Valley. He joins his former offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne in Norfolk, who is now the Monarchs’ head coach.

After an intriguing season as Miles Sanders’ back up in 2018, the Virginia native was expected to have a productive sophomore campaign last fall. While he entered the season as Penn State’s starting running back, Slade didn’t have a huge year. He earned 47 carries for 214 yards and two scores, while Journey Brown and Noah Cain quickly became the most productive members of the position group.

Despite not having as big a year as he might’ve expected, Slade did make a few big plays as a receiver out of the backfield in 2019. His departure will certainly hurt the position group’s depth, but Brown and Cain are still poised to have productive seasons this fall. Devyn Ford will also add value to the rotation, while freshmen Caziah Holmes and Keyvone Lee will add depth.

Slade is now the fifth player to transfer away from Happy Valley just this year, along with Daniel Joseph, Mac Hippenhammer, Damion Barber, and Hunter Kelly. Several other players also remain in the transfer portal.

The running back also becomes the second of three five-star prospects from Penn State’s 2018 recruiting class to transfer. Former five-star wide receiver Justin Shorter transferred to Florida in December after a somewhat underwhelming redshirt freshman season in Happy Valley. This leaves linebacker Micah Parsons as the only five-star remaining from that class.

About the Author

Will Pegler

Will is a senior majoring in digital and print journalism and is an associate editor for Onward State. He is from Darien, Connecticut and is a lifelong Penn State football fan. He loves a good 80's comedy movie, Peaky Blinders, The Office, and the New York Yankees and Giants. You can catch some of his ridiculous sports takes on his Twitter @gritdude and yell at him on his email willpegler@onwardstate.com

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