Penn State spring two-a-days: Running back and defensive tackle

It’s time for Penn State football two-a-days from Blue White Illustrated. We’re getting you ready for spring practice by breaking down each position this week. Today we’re focusing on running backs and defensive tackles. If you haven’t yet, subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube, so you don’t miss any of our content.

We all know the Penn State running backs are good

Penn State’s running back room is special. Former five-star recruit Nicholas Singleton proved his potential in year one at Penn State, rushing for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns despite sharing the load with teammate Kaytron Allen. The Pennsylvania native combines explosive speed with a violent running style and now elite size. After his second rotation through the Penn State weightlifting program, the sophomore tailback is now listed at 228 pounds. The college football world is waiting to see what he can do in Year two.

Next to him is Allen. The slippery tailback broke 46 tackles on run plays last season and another five on receptions. Allen is a patient, mature runner that packed on the muscle this offseason to keep up with his teammate. Allen is now listed at 217 on the Penn State roster, giving him more power behind his pads. With a well-rounded game, he’s the type of do-it-all tailback that works perfectly with Singleton.

But, like at quarterback, things get murky after that. Allen and Singleton are the only two scholarship running backs on the roster. It’s a problem that the team is navigating this spring, says head coach James Franklin,

“But that was the whole idea of signing two [high school prospects]. Because whether the third back comes from who we currently have in the program or whether the third back comes from an incoming freshman, that’s what we got to figure out between this spring and then summer camp as well for depth. But also to make sure that we’re not overworking those two guys either,” Franklin said

Singleton and Allen are the keys to Penn State’s offense in 2023. Both players need to make strides this spring so that the team can rely on them as a consistent offensive force. With a new quarterback under center, the best-case scenario is that both Penn State runners thrive in their second year and take the pressure off of the quarterback.

Everything is easier when defensive coordinators are terrified of your play action.

Will the real DT please stand up?

Up Next, we have the defensive tackle rotation. It was a significant talking point in head coach James Franklin’s opening press conference on Tuesday. He wants to get more out of this group.

“I think Deion’s [Barnes] going to be able to build off of what we’ve done the last couple of years. But I also think he’s going to put his stamp on it as well. And one of the things that’s really important to him is effort. That sounds like a simple thing, but we think there’s a little bit left in the tank to get our guys to play on a different level,” Franklin said.

Franklin is excited about his team’s depth of returning players with experience, but all of it might not show up right away. A key defensive tackle will start off slow this spring, thanks to an offseason injury.

“We have [Hakeem] Beamon, [D’Von] Ellies, [Zane] Durant and [Jordan] van den Berg. Then we have Izzard, who has played a ton of football. I’m not sure how much he’ll be able to go this spring with some bumps and bruises that you guys will find out about obviously when you come out to practice,” the head coach said.

There are few places that this Penn State team needs a bonafide answer heading into spring football. But new defensive line coach Deion Barnes’ first order of business is to find a player to replace PJ Mustipher in the rotation. All of those five players that Franklin mentioned have played, but none have been standout stars for more than a few plays or moments.

From a run defense perspective, PFF charted Mustipher with 22 run-game tackles, good for 14th in the Big Ten. While that number isn’t outstanding, the next closest Nittany lion on the list is Hakeem Beamon, with 11.

Things are slightly more optimistic from a pass-rushing perspective. Beamon generated 19 pressures, which was tenth in the Big Ten last year. Sophomore Zane Durant managed 11 in a limited role last season and could give Penn State a spark.

But no matter who it is, someone has to step up and make plays against the run and pass for this team to win the games it wants to win next year.

That’s it for Penn State two-a-days. Don’t forget, new subscribers to Blue White Illustrated get four months for ten dollars. Get in on our spring special and get inside access from BWI.