Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
4 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / 2 0 2 5 F O O T B A L L P R E V I E W / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / I t's been more than two decades since Penn State has gone into a football sea- son with expectations as high as they are in 2025. Sure, polls by national writers only mean so much when the games are still weeks or months away, but there's a con- sensus building around the Nittany Lions as legitimate national title contenders. On3 national expert Ari Wasserman and FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt both picked Penn State as their preseason No. 1, and they're not alone. Those expectations, combined with a heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals in January, help explain why Penn State's two future NFL running backs, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, decided to come back for their senior seasons. "When I came here, I said I wanted to win a national championship," Allen told Penn State alum Michael Robinson in an interview with NBC Sports at the end of May. "That's what I want to do, and I feel like this is the year to do it." Given the realities of modern-day college football, it's remarkable that both Singleton and Allen have lasted all four years in Happy Valley. Both have been tempted by different op- portunities at times, whether it be to leave Penn State for another school or pursue a career in the NFL. Nittany Lion fans certainly ex- pected Singleton, who grew up in Reading, Pa., to have the career he's had. Not only was he a five-star pros- pect coming out of Governor Mifflin High in 2022, but he was also the Gatorade Player of the Year. Allen wasn't as heralded as Sin- gleton, but he was hardly an under- the-radar recruit. A graduate of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., he was the eighth-ranked running back and No. 153 overall prospect, per On3. When considering how tampering has increased across college football since the transfer portal was introduced, the fact that both players have remained in State College this long speaks highly of both Penn State's culture and their friendship. "We're trying to compete in everything we do. It makes me better, it makes him better," Single- ton told NBC. "We love each other and love competing and making each other better." It doesn't hurt that both Singleton and Allen have plenty to play for. As long as Scholarship Players (7) No. Player Yr. Ht. Wt. 13 Kaytron Allen Sr. 5-11 217 21 Jabree Coleman Fr. 6-0 209 23 Tikey Hayes Fr. 5-11 204 25 Quinton Martin Jr. R-Fr. 6-1 206 10 Nicholas Singleton Sr. 6-0 224 24 Corey Smith R-Fr. 5-10 193 26 Cam Wallace R-So. 5-9 208 Singleton shined in Penn State's matchup against Notre Dame last January, rushing for a game-high 83 yards and 3 touchdowns in the College Football Playoff semifinal. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS Two For Two For The Show The Show Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen look to fuel a Penn State title bid RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M