Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
3 6 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 / / / / / / / 2 0 2 3 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / Sophomore running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen could be an even more potent tandem in 2023 than they were as record-setting freshmen NAT E BAU E R | NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM Adrenaline Rush T he Rose Bowl hadn't yet been played when Mike Yurcich gleefully al- lowed himself to look ahead to the 2023 season. Penn State's offensive coor- dinator had already enjoyed four months of excellence from his true freshman run- ning backs, Nicholas Singleton and Kay- tron Allen, and he wasn't about to deny the direction he planned on steering the Nittany Lions moving forward. Returning after ster- ling debut seasons, Sin- gleton and Allen would be heavily relied upon in 2023. Yurcich was going to make sure of it. "I don't think you need to do much there except feed them the rock, from my standpoint," Yurcich said. "The message for me is, we're going to just keep going with you guys. "It is what it is. We're just going to keep going. Being steadfast and making sure that they get enough touches, in my mind, shows them that at least the offensive co- ordinator has a lot of faith in them and that we're going to give them the ball." Yurcich's belief in both players was well-earned last season. After back-to- back campaigns in which the Nittany Li- ons struggled to develop a consistently reliable rushing attack, the arrival of Allen and Singleton changed everything. Singleton gave PSU's backfield the game-breaking potential that it had been seeking since Jour- ney Brown's breakout 2019 cam- paign. His 70-yard touchdown run in the first quar- ter of a victory ove r O h i o i n Week 2 offered a glimpse of what he could bring to the offense. The games that followed pro- vided confirma- tion of his home run capability. Singleton fin- ished atop the team rushing chart with 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns on 156 carries, and those chunk plays were a big part of the story. He delivered at least one carry of 30 or more yards in 6 of 13 games and finished with 9 on the year. The previous sea- son, Penn State's running backs combined for just 2 carries of Quick Facts Position coach: Ja'Juan Seider (6th season) Returning starters: Nicholas Singleton (8 career starts), Kay- tron Allen (3) Departing starters: Devyn Ford (6), Keyvone Lee (7) Top reserve: Trey Potts (5, at Minnesota) Newcomers: Trey Potts, Lon- don Montgomery, Cam Wallace Moved in: None Moved out: None