Young backs, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, make strong impression

Penn State super senior linebacker Jonathan Sutherland had his pick.

Encircled by reporters following Penn State’s practice Wednesday evening, he was asked to identify a spring standout. Five practices in, either side of the ball was in play.

But, Sutherland knew where he’d land.

Facing the Penn State offense through the winter and now into the spring, Sutherland has been witness to a performer he’s certain to encounter quite a few times before wrapping up his career as a Nittany Lion.

“I’m impressed with a lot of these freshmen. They came here in January, and they were working all winter workouts,” Sutherland said. “I would say the one guy is probably Nick Singleton. He’s had a couple of standout plays. He’s a good player.”

Initial impressions

The sentiment isn’t unique to Sutherland.

Impressing to become the On3 Consensus No. 1-ranked running back in the country in the Class of 2022, Singleton’s reputation has endured taking the next step in his career. Now three months into his time at Penn State, Singleton stood out in six weeks of winter workouts with new strength coach Chuck Losey. 

However, in his first spring practice as a Penn State player, Singleton has merely continued that trajectory.

Making a favorable initial impression on Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, that physical preparedness of Singleton – along with that of fellow early enrollee Kaytron Allen – is what has stood out the most.

“What’s impressive to me is that they came out of high school and physically, they’re at a stage to where they can do all things,” Yurcich told reporters. “You don’t have to worry about what down is with those guys. They can play on all downs because of their physical strength and their maturity. 

“We just have to get them squared away mentally, from a protection standpoint, assignment standpoint, and those sorts of things. But, they’re doing a hell of a job, and they’re just going to raise… the competitive level in that room.”

Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen impact on teammates

The same appears to be true of Singleton and Allen’s offensive line influence. 

Providing his first assessment of Penn State’s pair of true freshman backs this spring, center Juice Scruggs cited something of a domino effect.

Already turning heads for their advanced entry point, the impact of the performances of both Singleton and Allen has created optimism among the offensive linemen.

“Nick and Kaytron, how they came in, for freshmen, they’re not like normal true freshmen,” Scruggs said. “When they put the pads on, they show it. They run behind their pads. 

“That’s something we need. As an O-line and as a running back unit, we gotta be together. I feel like last year, we weren’t together as much. But this year, we gotta just stick together and just do better.”

Head coach James Franklin, dipping his toes in the water of optimism, suggested the program is now seeing that intent coming to fruition.

Crediting the entirety of the offense, the early showing is what the program hopes to see fully this fall.

“We got a pretty good feel who the vets are. We need them and expect them to take a step this year,” Franklin said. “The two freshmen have been impressive, really since they’ve shown up on campus. 

“Kaytron is very football smart. I think his experience at IMG has put him ahead in terms of just college-level learning, experience, and understanding defense, protections, and things like that. And then Nick Singleton, as you guys have seen some in the weightlifting sessions and some of the announcements on social media, he’s been pretty impressive. But, he’s got tremendous burst, powerful, strong in pass protection. So, we’ve been impressed so far.”