Penn State Sports Magazine
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4 8 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M E D I T O R I A L M AT T H E R B M A T T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M O f the 20 letters of intent that ar- rived at the Lasch Building on the morning of Feb. 3, 2016, few, if any, were more breathlessly awaited than the one bearing Miles Sanders' signature. A coveted four-star running back from Woodland Hills High in Pitts- burgh, Sanders had heard more than his share of recruiting pitches during the year in which he was verbally com- mitted to Penn State — so many pitches that assistant coach Terry Smith called him up when the sun rose on signing day just to make small talk and confirm that the letter would soon be on its way. The coaches need not have worried; Sanders' LOI appeared at Penn State's football headquarters at 8:50 a.m. "We feel like he's the No. 1 running back in the nation," said Smith later that day. "We couldn't afford to let a guy like that get away from us." As badly as the staff wanted him, though, Sanders didn't make much of an impact in his first two seasons with the Nittany Lions. Playing behind Sa- quon Barkley, he received only 56 car- ries his freshman and sophomore years. It wasn't until his junior season that Sanders broke through. He rushed for 1,274 yards in 2018, after which he declared for the NFL Draft and was se- lected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round. This past March, after ranking fifth in the league with 1,269 rushing yards last year, he signed a free agent contract worth $25.4 million with the Carolina Panthers. So, the story has a happy ending, and it's largely because Sanders stuck to the original plan. By the time he declared for the draft, he had amassed 276 carries at the college level — enough to provide pro teams with a comprehensive picture of his skill set, but not so many as to raise concerns about wear and tear. Sanders' tenure at Penn State pre- dated the arrival of the transfer portal and the relaxation of name, image and likeness restrictions. In combination, those moves by the NCAA have given rise to a form of unrestricted free agency in which players are free to seek more lucrative opportunities at the end of every season. We'll never know what Sanders would have done had the current rules been in place during the two years he spent cooling his heels as Barkley's sparingly used backup. But we do know that his successors have options. Consequently, one of James Franklin's biggest chal- lenges is to ensure that his players all feel as though Penn State is the best place for them to be. That's especially tough at the quar- terback position, where, ideally, one guy will take nearly all of the snaps. But there are tricky balancing acts to be performed at other positions, too, and running back is one of them. There's still only one football, after all. That rule hasn't changed. At Penn State, sophomores Nicho- las Singleton and Kaytron Allen have shared the position since the start of the 2022 season, shining for the Nittany Lions in the latest iteration of the team's trademark "LawnBoyz" backfield. Singleton is a former five-star pros- pect. He's a native Pennsylvanian, and he's displayed a penchant for spectacu- lar breakaway runs. Those factors have made him one of the biggest stars in Penn State's offense. But since their arrival, Singleton and Allen have split the carries equitably. Singleton had received 230 career car- ries heading into Penn State's game against Massachusetts on Oct. 14, while Allen had received 236. Singleton had rushed for 1,344 yards and 18 touch- downs, but Allen wasn't far behind with 1,174 yards and 12 scores. The two have also been roughly equivalent as pass catchers. Allen had 25 receptions for 220 yards and a touch- down, while Singleton had 24 catches for 196 yards and 2 scores. Franklin has made a point in recent weeks of ensuring that Allen receives the attention he's due. The veteran Penn State mentor noted that longtime col- lege and NFL coach Al Groh had visited Penn State over the summer and "raved about Kaytron and guys like Kaytron within our program." "I hope, from our fan base and from our media, that he's appreciated ex- ternally the way he is internally by his teammates and the coaching staff," Franklin said. Allen has essentially been a co-starter with Singleton at running back, which makes him a key part of Penn State's of- fense. He's got a chance to be a key part of an NFL offense in a couple of years, and someday might even find himself where Miles Sanders is right now. As Sanders and Barkley have shown, the Nittany Lion backfield is more than capable of serving as a springboard to football's most lucrative level. Even for a member of the LawnBoyz, the grass isn't necessarily greener elsewhere. ■ Through Penn State's first five games this season, Kaytron Allen was leading the team with 307 rushing yards. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Penn State's Backfield Has Been A True Tandem VARSITY VIEWS