Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1514597
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M KEY LOSS Trey Potts Rushed for 155 yards on 25 carries and posted the highest yards-per-carry average (6.2) of any PSU scholarship running back during his lone season in State College. Potts announced on Jan. 4 that he intends to enter the NFL Draft. KEY RETURNEES Kaytron Allen | Jr. Led Penn State and finished sixth in the Big Ten with 902 rushing yards during his sopho- more season. Allen ran for 6 touchdowns, and he also caught 14 passes for 81 yards and a score. He now has 1,769 yards rushing in two seasons. London Montgomery | R-Fr. Did not see game action during his first sea- son at Penn State, preserving his freshman eligibility in 2024. Montgomery has not played football since his junior season at Scranton (Pa.) Prep due to a torn ACL that forced him to miss his senior year in 2022. Nicholas Singleton | Jr. Rushed for 752 yards and 8 touchdowns to rank second on the team as a sophomore, while also placing fourth on the squad with 26 catches for 308 yards and 2 scores. Cameron Wallace | R-Fr. Did not see action in any of Penn State's 13 games, preserving his freshman eligibility in 2024. NEWCOMERS Quinton Martin | Fr. Enrolled at Penn State in January after a spec- tacular senior season at Belle Vernon (Pa.) High in which he finished with 1,202 rushing yards and 753 receiving yards, scored 28 total touch- downs and led the Leopards to their second con- secutive PIAA Class AAA state championship. Corey Smith | Fr. Was hindered by a collarbone injury during his senior season at Catholic Memorial High in Waukesha, Wis., but returned to action for the team's playoff run, finishing with 287 yards and a touchdown on just 33 carries. 2024 Outlook Singleton and Allen are set to return in 2024 for their third and presumably final season with the Nittany Lions. Both finished among the top 11 rushers in the Big Ten this past year, but like the rest of the offense, the two running backs had mixed success in 2023. Heading into the season, then-offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich had said his unit would revolve around Singleton and Allen. He called them "the heart and soul of the offense." "At the end of the day, you have to stop them," Yurcich said last summer. "[The defense] may be in a really good call, but they're talented enough to still win." Unfortunately for PSU, they didn't win as many of those battles as Yurcich likely expected. Singleton's 752 yards were 309 short of his freshman total, and his per-carry average dipped from 6.8 yards to 4.4. The long gainers he produced with regularity in his first season just weren't there last fall. The longest of his 171 carries covered 24 yards. As for Allen, his 902 yards were 35 more than he had as a freshman, but he didn't enjoy a breakout game until rushing for a career-high 137 yards in Penn State's regular-season finale against Michigan State. Also, he went from scoring 10 touchdowns as a freshman to 6 as a sophomore. Despite those statistical declines, Penn State led the Big Ten in rushing offense, averaging 185.2 yards per game and 4.7 per carry. So, there's a lot of proven playmaking potential at the top of the depth chart for new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to work with. The Nittany Lions should also have outstanding depth, with Montgomery and Wallace com- ing off redshirt years and true freshmen Martin and Smith joining the backfield, too. Martin, the nation's No. 59 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking, is a particularly intriguing prospect. In addition to being a strong runner, he's a very capable pass catcher, as evidenced by his 753 receiving yards as a senior at Belle Vernon (Pa.) High. Don't be surprised if Penn State finds a way to capitalize on Martin's well-rounded skill set in 2024. — Matt Herb Backfield Expected To Boast Talent And Depth Nicholas Singleton finished 11th in the Big Ten with 752 rushing yards as a sophomore. He has totaled 1,813 yards rushing in two seasons. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL 2024 LOOK AHEAD RUNNING BACKS