Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 41 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / R U N N I N G B A C K S / / / / / / / BWI in early July. "I feel like a lot of people are sleeping on me. I've got something to prove this year." In a separate interview, Singleton like- wise acknowledged the "doubters," and noted that running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider constantly adds fuel to the fire by sending articles or social media posts that act as a driving force. A number of pre- season publications left the Nittany Lion running backs out of their national top- five lists, for example. While the backfield also has some strong believers, Singleton has been focused on the more skeptical takes. "It's motivation for sure," he said. "I know there's a lot of doubters still with me and [Kaytron] and the whole running back room. We just have to keep our heads down and keep working." Singleton, a Shillington, Pa., native, and Allen, who attended IMG Academy in Florida but is originally from Norfolk, Va., are anomalies in modern college football. They exist in a world in which players are incentivized to pile up stats and win in- dividual awards so that they can increase their value in the name, image and like- ness marketplace. NIL considerations, coupled with the less-restrictive transfer rules that have been put in place in re- cent years, have made it harder than ever for teams to develop depth, yet neither Singleton nor Allen has flinched at the prospect of sharing the workload at Penn State. Despite both players' immense talent, only Singleton has topped the 1,000-yard mark in a single season, and he did so by just 61 yards as a newcomer in 2022 on his way to winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Last season, Allen had more yards than his classmate (902 to 752), but Singleton had 8 touchdowns to Allen's 6. It's not hard to imagine an alternate history in which one of them might have decided that having the chance to pro- duce such gaudy numbers all by himself was an idea worth pursuing. Instead, their friendship and trust in the plan laid out by Seider and head coach James Franklin kept both in State College. Far from being a wedge, the partnership they've devel- oped has been one of the forces holding them together. "It's just all about loving each other, feeding off each other, and taking a load off each other," Singleton said. "It just means a lot. Especially when you want to get to the next level and try to be as healthy as possible. "We always look out for each other. We just get happy when we score with each other. It means a lot." Allen agreed, noting that while he and Singleton are competitive, they under- stand that they're working toward shared goals. "We both support each other and help each other out," he said. "We aren't being selfish toward each other, aren't shying away from each other. We compete on and off the field. We're always trying to talk and communicate with each other and trying to help each other grow for real. That's why I think we continue to keep going and growing as the years go by." True Blue Seider has been instrumental in fos- tering that relationship. His clairvoy- ance in mapping out their careers — ev- erything from early playing time (which both got) to being on the field together and being co-starters — is as much a rea- son why both are ready to roll with Penn State in 2024 as anything. That doesn't mean it was easy getting to this point, of course. There is little "We all know they could be 1,600-, 1,700-yard rushers, easily. But they put individual goals aside for team goals, and that says a lot about these two kids in this world where we can all be selfish." J A ' J U A N S E I D E R O N S I N G L E T O N A N D A L L E N Singleton said his approach to running the ball is to "trust my instincts. I'm going to try to split the defense and score." He totaled 20 rushing touchdowns and 3 receiving TDs in his first two seasons. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL