Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1488968
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 2 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M The regular-season finale against Michigan State was Shelton's best per- formance, according to the analysts at Pro Football Focus, giving him a spring- board into the 2023 season. He could end up moving to the right side next fall now that Fashanu has announced he plans on returning for his redshirt junior year rather than entering the upcoming NFL Draft. OL JB Nelson (3) and OL Vega Io- ane (3): Nelson played in the interior down the stretch as the Lions battled in- juries, including a season-ender to red- shirt freshman guard Landon Tengwall. Despite being pressed into action, he pre- served his redshirt. Ioane and Nelson found themselves in a similar place late in the year. Because both were up to the challenge as true freshmen, the coaches were able to al- ternate their game usage in November to ensure both could play in the Rose Bowl without losing a year. Ioane is capable of playing both guard spots and center. WR Kaden Saunders (2), P Alex Bacchetta (2), LB Keon Wylie (2): Saunders finished the regular season with 2 catches for 21 yards, including a season-long reception of 13 yards against Ohio. Bacchetta punted 3 times for an av- erage of 41 yards, with 2 of those attempts landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Wylie did not find his way onto the stat sheet in his two appearances. CB Cristian Driver (1), S Mehki Flowers (1), DT Kaleb Artis (1): None of these three players recorded a statis- tic in their respective one-game appear- ances during the regular season. Driver will move over to receiver during the 2023 offseason. QB Beau Pribula (0), WR Anthony Ivey (0), WR Tyler Johnson (0), TE Jerry Cross (0): Cross was slowed by an injury he suffered during the summer and didn't return to practice until late in the season. Even if he'd been healthy, he would still most likely have redshirted given PSU's depth at tight end. Pribula was likewise ticketed for a redshirt year with Clifford, Allar and Veilleux ahead of him at quarterback. All four of these players will be looking to make their college debuts next year. ■ Running Back Tandem Elevates Penn State's Ground Game Penn State's freshman running back duo made history this year. With Nicholas Singleton totaling 941 yards in the regular season and Kaytron Allen amassing 830, the Nittany Lions became the first team in Big Ten history to have two freshmen surpass 700 yards rushing in the same season. Singleton needed only two games to show off his dazzling potential. After a quiet debut against Purdue on opening night, he gashed Ohio for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 10 carries. And just in case anyone was tempted to write off that showing as the result of a mismatch with an out- manned Mid-American Conference defense, Singleton did much the same a week later at Auburn, finishing with 124 yards and 2 more scores. Allen took a little longer to break out, but in Week 4 against Central Michigan, he put together the first 100-yard game of his career, totaling 111 against the Chippewas. Between them, Singleton and Allen surpassed 100 yards five times this past fall, with the biggest of those games being Singleton's outburst against Ohio. The two newcomers were so proficient at gaining yards on the ground that it was easy to forget PSU's previous struggles. Going into the 2022 season, Penn State hadn't had a 100-yard rushing performance since then-freshman Keyvone Lee gained 134 yards against Michigan in November 2020. — Matt Herb Nicholas Singleton became the first Penn State player since the 2020 season to surpass 100 yards rushing in a game when he rambled for 179 yards on just 10 carries against Ohio in Week 2. PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT PSU's Freshman Running Backs Game By Game NICHOLAS SINGLETON KAYTRON ALLEN Opponent Att Yds TDs Long Avg Att Yds TDs Long Avg Purdue 10 31 0 9 3.1 8 31 0 9 3.9 Ohio 10 179 2 70 17.9 6 23 0 11 3.8 Auburn 10 124 2 54 12.4 9 52 2 18 5.8 C. Michigan 12 42 0 21 3.5 13 111 1 37 8.5 Northwestern 21 87 1 19 4.1 21 86 0 13 4.1 Michigan 6 19 0 9 3.2 6 16 1 4 2.7 Minnesota 13 79 2 30 6.1 15 77 0 14 5.1 Ohio State 14 45 0 6 3.2 12 76 1 27 6.3 Indiana 16 73 1 15 4.6 18 86 3 12 4.8 Maryland 11 122 2 45 11.1 16 73 0 17 4.6 Rutgers 9 62 0 26 6.9 11 117 1 59 10.6 Michigan State 17 78 0 31 4.6 21 82 0 14 3.9 Total 149 941 10 70 6.3 156 830 9 59 5.3