Penn State's pair of freshman running backs holding their own in a stacked room
Penn State freshmen running backs Cam Wallace and London Montgomery arrived in Happy Valley earlier this summer with high hopes. While the pair made it to the same destination, their paths to get to Central Pennsylvania were very different.
Montgomery was an in-state standout who committed to the Nittany Lions last summer. Wallace, a Georgia native, made his choice two days before National Signing Day in December of 2022. Wallace was coming off a monster senior season on both sides of the ball, while Montgomery had to sit out his final year due to a devastating knee injury suffered in a preseason scrimmage.
Regardless, both now have the full attention of Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider. The sixth-year assistant will now perform the balancing act that he’s gotten used to with first-year players.
“There’s excitement,” Seider said of his freshmen on Sunday. “They’re fast and they play fast. Now I’ve got to slow them down. We talk in the backfield about “slow to, fast through.” Getting them to understand to just take a deep breath. I have to remind myself that these kids weren’t here in the spring. When they come into the new offense, you’ve got one kid who missed his whole senior year, just let them be patient.”
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Since getting to campus in May, the duo made it a point to soak up all they could from Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Minnesota transfer Trey Potts. While carries may be tough to come by in 2023, Wallace and Montgomery are hoping to set themselves up for a successful future.
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“I love the fact that they love ball. They’re always around. We have camp, they’re in my hip pocket,” said Seider. “They’re not afraid to ask questions and get on the board. To me as a coach, you always want to know what the kid knows. How do you know what he knows if he’s not asking questions? You can get on the board and make mistakes, at least I know that if you make a mistake I can coach you and you can come along. They do a great job with that.”
Wallace turned heads upon arrival with his 4.4-second speed. Montgomery wasn’t far behind before his injury and he’s come a long way since undergoing surgery last September.
“You can teach everything else, but you can’t teach that,” Seider said of the duo’s speed. “So it’s fun, and they’ve got good mentors in front of them to watch.”
