Penn State Football Positional Previews: Running Backs

Run to setup the pass; pass to setup the run. Penn State will look to do both this year as it tries to bounce back from a somewhat lukewarm season offensively in 2023 and attempts to leave a mark in a new Big Ten and breakthrough to make the newly expanded College Football Playoff.

On the ground, the Nittany Lions will lean on the combination of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, a pairing which is turning into one of the more successful one-two punches in Penn State's storied history. Running the ball will be key in 2024, like it is every year, and the Nittany Lions should be equipped to answer that call.

Last Year: The assumption all last offseason was that Penn State’s running back corps would be the crutch for new starting quarterback Drew Allar to lean on. In some ways it was, roughly 1,600 rushing yards from the tandem of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen provided Penn State with a steady — but not very explosive — set of options on the ground. However, this lack of explosiveness proved to be a bit of an issue for a Penn State offense that was assuming it would be able to get its fair share of chunk plays on the ground. With that largely not the case, it was hard not to feel like this group was both equal parts reliable but lacking the potency many may have hoped it would have.

New Faces, Returners and Losses: It is maybe a slight surprise that both Singleton and Allen are back in 2024 after what felt like an underwhelming year and the potential for a too-many-cooks situation for the two of them. That said, Penn State won’t complain about having a tandem of running backs to work with, and to the credit of both, neither really gave any indication they were looking toward the portal in the first place. How true that really is will probably always be a secret, but nevertheless, here they both are. Trey Potts, who was fifth on the team in rushing with 25 carries for 162 yards in 2023, and Tank Smith (9-71) are the only losses from last season's depth, both having exhausted eligibility. For the newer faces, it's Quinton Martin Jr. and Cam Wallace, who both turned heads in the Blue White game. It can be hard to know what to make of a scrimmage, but it seems like Martin in particular could be too crafty and too talented, not to see some action. Penn State doesn’t really need a three-headed running back room, but it isn’t coming off a season of such incredible playmaking that it can really afford to knowingly keep playmakers off the field. How all of this balances out remains to be seen.

The Storyline: It probably isn’t fair to call this a bounce back season for a running back group that rushed for over 1,500 yards in a season, but given how much the Nittany Lions missed explosive plays in 2023, there is a little bit of something to prove when it comes to how lethal this group wants to be. The pressure is a bit more on Singleton in this case, a high profile prospect who has shown real flashes of brilliance. Allen will be fine, a more traditional back in terms of his down hill physicality, but both will look to go from being reliable four or five yards per carry rushes into true home run threats again. You can win a lot of games with one. You can win a title with the other.

Overall: Calling this room one of the best in the nation last offseason turned out to be a bit of an oversell but it’s safe to say that regardless of how good Singleton and Allen are on the national scale that Penn State is plenty happy to be walking into 2024 with both of them. They have a little bit to prove this season, but there’s no question the Nittany Lions ought to be able to rely on both backs to leave their mark.

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