‘The it factor’: Why Penn State freshmen Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen will play right away

Ja’Juan Seider has a good idea who will take Penn State’s first carry of the season next Thursday at Purdue.

He’s not going to say who, of course. It could be Keyvone Lee, last year’s top rusher. It could be veteran Devyn Ford. It could be freshmen Nick Singleton or Kaytron Allen, and it wouldn’t be that big of a shock.

All four are going to take snaps against the Boilermakers. Seider, Penn State’s running backs coach, doesn’t mind disclosing that.

“It’s going to be fluid,” Seider said after a Tuesday night walkthrough at Beaver Stadium. “You’ve got guys who have played a lot of games, and you’ve got two young pups who deserve to play and who will play in that game.”

Seider made that last point — that Singleton and Allen are going to get early-season reps — abundantly clear. “I’m high on them,” Seider said. “I’m very high on them.” And it’s easy to understand why.

Singleton and Allen have yet to take a meaningful snap for the Nittany Lions. They haven’t scored 12 touchdowns and rushed for 1,597 yards at the Power Five level like Lee and Ford have. But flip on their high school film, and you’ll know why Singleton and Allen received 72 combined collegiate offers, per Rivals.

Singleton, the National Gatorade Player of the Year, picked Penn State over Alabama, Notre Dame and Texas A&M. Allen, a fellow four-star prospect, signed with the Nittany Lions over Florida, Florida State and Georgia. The duo could’ve gone almost anywhere, and they chose to compete for playing time in August camp.

That preseason push is coming to a close. The opener at Purdue is a week away, and both Singleton and Allen have already shown Seider enough to back up their recruiting pedigree. They’ve displayed the ability to catch the ball. They’ve been willing blockers in the passing game. And they’re running with a full head of steam.

“They have an old school-ness to them. They play the game the way you think running backs should play the game,” Seider said. “If you get in front of them, they’re going to try to run through you.”

They can also hit the home run. Seider said Singleton, specifically, has speed you can’t coach. “And it’s a violent run,” he added. “I always compare him to Journey (Brown). You never knew how fast Journey was because it was so effortless. But Nick, you know how fast he is. If you get in front of a freight train, that’s what you’re getting in front of.”

Penn State has desperately missed that kind of burst since Brown. In 13 games in 2019, the Nittany Lions had 13 runs of 30-plus yards by running backs. Since then, they’ve had six such runs in 22 games, three in a covid-shortened 2020 and three during last season’s frustrating campaign.

Overall, the ground game fell short of competency in 2021. Its 3.21 yards per carry and 108 yards per game ranked 117th and 118th nationally, respectively. Seider said both the tailbacks and the offensive line were disgusted with that lack of production, adding that it was a point of motivation throughout the offseason.

Lee’s speed is up to a “second level” now. Ford “busted his tail” and earned the trust of Seider. But the freshmen, after enrolling in the winter ahead of spring ball, made their presence felt as game-changers — not just in the future, but from the opening kickoff.

“In any position, once you understand who you are as a player, you become a better player. These two young kids have an idea of who they are early,” Seider said. “It’s unique. It’s the ‘it’ factor. That is the reason why they’re going to play early. They’re the type of kids who are ready right now.”