James Franklin breaks down Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen return for 2025 season

The Penn State Nittany Lions got an immediate boost to their offseason when several key players committed to return for 2025. That included both star running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, much to the delight of head coach James Franklin.

At his Winter press conference, Franklin spoke about their decisions to return. In particular, he broke down the process and what he felt went into their initial decisions.

“I think you guys know,” James Franklin said. “The way we handled it with all of those guys that had decisions to make on whether to come back or whether to leave, we never dealt with it during a game week.”

Both Singleton and Allen likely could have gone to the NFL. However, within hours of one another, they announced their return to Happy Valley. That was a decision that they were given plenty of time to make and think about.

“So, we tried to do it right when the regular season ended. We tried to do it a little bit during bye weeks. Things like that. But whenever we weren’t in a game week, a traditional game week. So, I think maybe the first playoff game, we had maybe 10 days or something like that. So, we were able to use those first,” Franklin said. “You know, three days, or whatever it may be, ahead of time, to work through this, but it was a scramble. Then who do you meet with? And when do you meet with them? And these guys that were here, well, you haven’t met with us yet. Well, kind of working through the roster, and starting with, obviously, the oldest guys and the guys that had legitimate NFL decisions to make.”

James Franklin would go on to compare their decision to that of the tight ends last season, and some individual players from his recent time at Penn State.

“But I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out, because obviously, it’s not just us talking to them. The agents are talking to them as well. Everybody’s providing information from the NFL. So, I wasn’t really sure. I thought there was a good chance early on that we would get one of them back, very similar to the Tyler [Warren] and Theo [Johnson] situation last year. But then it started to look like we may be able to get them both back,” Franklin said.

“With Nick, it was a little bit like an Olu [Fashanu] situation where getting his degree, finishing what he started, taking a few more steps. I think that was a factor for him. I think with Kaytron, to be honest with you, one of the most exciting things about Kaytron is Kaytron’s never really had an off-season. Every off-season, he’s had some injury that has really limited his off-season development. So, you know, with him really having his first off-season where he’s been healthy, I think he’s really excited about what he can do, and I know we’re really excited.”

Coming out of high school, both Singleton and Allen were highly touted. Singleton was the 1st-ranked running back in the Class of 2022, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Meanwhile, Allen was the eighth-ranked running back that cycle. They ran for 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns compared to 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns respectively.

“But I didn’t really know how it was going to go with either of those guys,” Franklin said. “But, obviously, it worked out to be a positive. 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 1,000 yards.”

Penn State did, notably, have a change at running backs coach. Notre Dame hired away Ja’Juan Seider from Penn State. So, the Nittany Lions chose to hire Stan Drayton, a well-respected running backs coach who was recently the head coach at Temple. He’s coached running backs like Brian Westbrook, Carlos Hyde, Ezekiel Elliott, Bijan Robinson, and Matt Forte, among others.

“Then, you know, the hiring process with that. It’s funny, because, you know, people just like hiring a defense coordinator, like everybody kind of is anxious about that and what it’s going to look like, and do they still fit. Well, at this point of the program, it makes no sense to go hire somebody that doesn’t fit our program and fit our personnel. We’re not at a point that we’re going to start over. It’s to continue to build that same way with the running back coach. I would make the argument with Nick and Fat and the rest of the room coming back, and what we’ve recruited and who’s committed to us out there, it’s arguably the most attractive running back job in the country. So, those things help with that,” Franklin said.

“So, to your point, I’m not hiring anybody that Nick and Fat, that I don’t think will feel great about. Now, I also don’t include them in the process, just like I didn’t include Drew [Allar] in the process of hiring an offensive coordinator because I don’t want them to go through the emotional roller coaster. I say, ‘Okay, here are the guys I’m thinking about.’ They get excited about somebody. We don’t get that guy, it goes in a different direction. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do for the reasons I just explained.”

The reality for a coach like James Franklin is every player is different. That means that their process is different and what to expect changes.

“But with the guys, to be honest, you just don’t know. Some guys you think are going to come back and should come back and don’t. And other guys you didn’t think we’re going to come back and they do. Like for a while there, I wasn’t sure about Zane [Durant], and you guys haven’t seen my office, but he knocked on the back door and he came walking in, and in very Zane fashion, he goes, ‘I’m back.’ And that was it… he was with Deion [Barnes]. Deion seemed too shocked by it, as I was,” Franklin said.

“But, I think that’s also telling right, when guys like Olu and the guys that we had come back this year, I think that speaks to the culture in the room, and I think that speaks to the development that they’re getting, and the excitement about some of the things that we can do this year. So, I think it’s all those things.”

With the return of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, to go along with quarterback Drew Allar, there are massive expectations on Penn State’s offense next season. So, returning to the College Football Playoff has become a major goal.