Nick Singleton provides lightning to Kaytron Allen’s thunder

Penn State possesses one of the most dangerous running back duos in the country with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The pair combined to help the Nittany Lions rank fourth in the Big Ten this past season with 181.1 rushing yards per game and have their sights set on an even bigger year in 2023.

They aren’t the only stars looking to take the Penn State offense to the next level, however. Former five-star quarterback Drew Allar is set to take over as the start following the graduation of Sean Clifford. On3‘s JD PicKell explained in a recent episode of The Hard Count why that should only open things up even more for Singleton and Allen.

“Dude is just a home run hitter,” PicKell said of Singleton. “87-yard touchdown run in the Rose Bowl a year ago. 6.8 yards per carry. Expect him to be the lightning to the thunder of Kaytron Allen in that running back room. Penn State’s gonna have a chance now to be even more dynamic offensively with Drew Allar being the quarterback for them. Dude can sling it.

“When you have a quarterback that can sling it around the yard where a safety has to kind of double check that it’s not play-action, you can’t just stack the box against Penn State. Nick Singleton is going to benefit from that and if you give him an inch, he’s gonna take a mile. Nick Singleton, firework player. Expect him to build on that 6.8 yard average he had a year ago. Dude’s gonna be a freak for them again in 2023.”

The scarier part is that both Singleton and Allen were true freshman this past season, so one would expect them to get even better with a year of experience under their belt. They became the only true freshmen teammates in Big Ten history to finish with 700 yards rushing each.

Singleton made even more history on his own, breaking the Penn State freshman record with 12 rushing touchdowns. He also finished with 1,061 yards, just 15 shy of tying Saquon Barkley for that freshman record. Allen had 10 touchdowns, which ranks second in the Nittany Lion record book behind only Singleton.

As one might expect, that historic season has led to plenty of optimism on just how good Penn State can be on offense this year. The Nittany Lions ended this past season with an 11-2 record as their only two losses came against Ohio State and Michigan, both of which made the College Football Playoff. With an offense featuring Allar and the two running backs, however, Penn State should have a chance at redeeming itself against those teams.

The Nittany Lions open the 2023 season on Sept. 2 against West Virginia.