Penn State invested time, effort and, yes, money in bringing back so many key players from its 2024 College Football Playoff semifinal team. And now, the Nittany Lions are getting recognized for the moves.
ESPN already has ranked Penn State’s Drew Allar as college football’s No. 2 returning quarterback for the 2025 season. Now, ESPN is piling on the plaudits for the Nittany Lions’ backfield, which will feature two of the nation’s top three backs in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
According to ESPN’s spring rankings, Singleton is the No. 2 returning back in college football, followed by Allen at No. 3. Both rank behind Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love, who helped the Fighting Irish beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl to reach the College Football Playoff championship game.
(Interestingly, the coach who helped develop Singleton and Allen at Penn State is now Love’s position coach at Notre Dame. Ja’Juan Seider left Penn State after seven years to join Marcus Freeman’s staff in South Bend.)
With Singleton and Allen, Penn State’s run game will be uniquely positioned next season. How did the Nittany Lions manage to keep two 1,000-yard rushers for a fourth consecutive season? It’s a combination of buy-in (the backs believe in their split usage), coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense and NFL preparation.
“I didn’t really know how it was going to go with either of those guys, but obviously it worked out to
be a positive,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in February. “I think they also now are at a point of their career, that I think early on, maybe they struggled splitting time, and I think now they understand the value of splitting time. It obviously helps that they both rush for 1000 yards.”
Allen led Penn State with 1,108 rushing yards last season, while Singleton rushed for 1,099 yards (on one fewer game) and a team-high 12 touchdowns. ESPN raved about the backs’ complementary nature and NFL promise.
In fact, Allen was ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s sixth-ranked back among draft-eligible players for 2025. Big Ten Network analyst Matt Millen echoed that assessment in December, before Penn State met Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
“They’re NFL-ready right now,” Millen said of Singleton and Allen. “They do all the little things well. When I watch them, I like to watch them in protection. They’re both excellent. The running skills are going to be the running skills, but they catch the ball well, they understand protections, and that is the whole next level. And when rookies come in [to the NFL], especially running backs if you have a rookie in there, you’re usually not too thrilled about what they see and don’t see in the passing game.
“And so I think both these guys, I think they see protection pretty darn well. So that’s a big deal. They catch the ball well, they run the ball well, they have good vision. They have all the requisite skills to be able to play at the next level, which they’re going to. They’re both excellent players.”
Penn State concludes spring drills with the Blue-White Game on April 26 at Beaver Stadium.
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