Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547542
2 8 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State offered a chance to de- velop, although it also offered consider- able competition. Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen were already established when Wallace arrived in 2023. He red- shirted his first season, then began seeing action the following year. He scored his first college touchdown on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter against Kent State. And then, later that same afternoon, he got hurt. The injuries to his legs plunged Wallace into a world that outsiders don't see. While his coaches and teammates understood the difficulties he was facing on a daily basis, Wallace was invisible to the PSU fan community. "I felt like a lot of people didn't really know what it meant to go through that type of situation," he said. "It was hard for me, but I just kept pushing forward, attacking rehab, trying to get back to the team." Another Wait Wallace announced his return with a spectacular play, catching a swing pass and hurdling a Nevada defender for a 12-yard gain in Penn State's 2025 season opener. "It sure was nice to see Cam," Franklin said afterward. "First time he touches the ball, he makes a big-time play. Very proud of him. There are physical, mental and emotional aspects coming back from that type of injury." It was a memorable return, but it wasn't the beginning of a busy season. With Sin- gleton and Allen still occupying the top of the depth chart, Wallace finished the year with 6 carries for 23 yards. His pass reception versus Nevada was the only one he had all season. He had recovered suffi- ciently to play, but his role remained small, and he wasn't sure he wanted to continue with the Nittany Lions in 2026, especially since so many of his teammates were leav- ing amid the roster upheaval that followed Franklin's midseason dismissal and the arrival of a new coaching staff. Wallace entered the transfer portal, but only briefly. On Jan. 10, he announced he would return for the start of the Matt Campbell coaching era. Nittany Lions Seek Another Rushing Turnaround With his 135-yard showing against Purdue on Oct. 31, redshirt junior Cam Wallace became the second Penn State running back to reach the 100-yard plateau this season, joining red- shirt sophomore Quinton Martin Jr., who had 100 yards in the Nittany Lions' nonconference finale versus Buffalo on Sept. 19. Even so, the Lions are going to need a strong finish to avoid one of their worst rushing per- formances of the past decade. As a team, they had 1,358 yards heading into their final three regular-season games. That could make this season the first since 2021 in which PSU fails to reach 2,000 yards as a team. During the 2020 and '21 seasons, Penn State was waylaid by a series of injuries at the tail- back position, a situation that didn't improve until true freshmen Nicholas Singleton and Kay- tron Allen arrived in 2022. Singleton and Allen combined for 1,928 rushing yards in their first year at PSU, 524 more yards than the offense as a whole generated the preceding season. This year's Nittany Lions are no longer in danger of setting a new benchmark for rushing ineffectiveness. Since the start of the Paterno era in 1966, Penn State's lowest team rushing yardage total came in 2001, when it totaled 1,317 yards in 11 games, averaging 119.7 yards per contest. Larry Johnson Jr. was the Lions' leading rusher that year with 337 yards and 2 touchdowns on 71 carries. Johnson's stats were unremarkable, but his performance was the prelude to something altogether different. In 2002, he finished with 2,087 yards and 20 scores, averaging 160.5 yards per game and finishing third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy. — Matt Herb PENN STATE'S TEAM RUSHING YARDAGE 2017-26 Year Att. Yards Avg./Game Avg./Carry Long 2026* 327 1,358 150.9 4.2 61 2025 475 2,267 174.4 4.8 67 2024 615 3,237 202.3 5.3 78 2023 515 2,403 184.8 4.7 50 2022 489 2,354 181.1 4.8 87 2021 437 1,404 108.0 3.2 44 2020 402 1,569 174.3 3.9 36 2019 516 2,478 190.6 4.8 85 2018 521 2,664 204.9 5.1 78 2017 451 2,212 170.2 4.9 92 * Statistics are through nine games Nicholas Singleton led the Nittany Lions in rushing as a true freshman, finishing with 1,061 yards and 12 touch- downs in 2022. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL