When Penn State’s Nick Singleton broke a 58-yard touchdown run to break open the Fiesta Bowl, he fulfilled the season-long plan James Franklin had conceived. Singleton had the burst and speed to leave defenders in his jet stream. He just needed to tie those skills together with vision, anticipation and creativity to turn first downs into touchdowns.
That’s where Singleton is training his focus this spring. Running through some refreshed drills with new Penn State running backs coach Stan Drayton, Singleton and fellow back Kaytron Allen are upskilling their games in what should be the nation’s best backfield.
“Stan’s drills have been really intentional, and those guys are doing really well right now,” Franklin told reporters after practice Tuesday in State College.
Penn State football is uniquely positioned with Singleton and Allen, a pair of 1,000-yard rushers who jointly decided to return for their fourth seasons. They did so before Ja’Juan Seider, their only running backs coach at Penn State, left for Notre Dame. But Drayton, the former Temple head coach who joined the Nittany Lions as running backs coach, has helped refresh the approach for the fourth-year backs.
“Before he transitioned to being the head coach at Temple, [Drayton] was considered the best running backs coach in college football and has a resume that backs that up,” Franklin said. “… He has done a good job connecting with the room, and that was going to be a challenge. Obviously [Singleton and Allen] had the same running backs coach their entire careers, and those coaching changes are hard. But they seem to be embracing it, and so does Stan. I think Stan’s having fun.”
With Singleton, the spring focus has been on creativity and explosiveness. Singleton is Penn State’s home-run threat in the backfield, having produced five runs of 40+ yards last season. He broke a pair of 40-yard carries against West Virginia and sealed the Fiesta Bowl win with a 58-yard scoring burst late in the fourth quarter.
Now, Franklin would like to see more. A lingering mid-season injury limited Singleton’s explosiveness until the postseason, when he scored five touchdowns and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. Franklin believes a healthy Singleton could be a constant threat with more moves in the open field, cutbacks and even hurdles.
“With Nick, it’s a lot of the open-field running and [adding] a little bit more creativity in his game,” Franklin said. “He’s been a guy that obviously is extremely strong, extremely explosive, extremely fast. We want to work on those open-field runs so he can get more 80-yard, 90-yard runs, which we think he is capable of getting:”
Allen is pressing to be more explosive as well, though that’s not the centerpiece of his game. He has been a power runner who runs through tackles and gains yards in traffic. Under Drayton, however, Allen is expanding his resume. Franklin said that being healthy this offseason, which has been an issue for him before, has made a significant difference for Allen.
“[Allen] has really improved,” Franklin said. “We’ve talked about it. He’s never really had an offseason since he’s been here. He looks faster, he looks more explosive. I think Stan has done a phenomenal job [with them].”
Singleton and Allen form the nation’s top backfield, according to ESPN, which lists them as the second- and third-ranked returning backs in college football. As Franklin said, they have two primary goals this spring.
“Both of those guys are just working really hard at trying to be more explosive in the running game and then also continue to expand their roles in the passing game,” Franklin said.
Penn State hosts the annual Blue-White spring game April 26 at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. Fans who want to watch must attend, since the game will not be televised.
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