James Franklin discusses unprecedented impact of Kaytron Allen, Nick Singleton

Penn State is gashing opponents on the ground thus far this season, and with two true freshman running backs. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are the two leading Nittany Lion rushers — and neither was on campus this time one year ago. These dudes are fresh out of high school and helping lead one of the best running attacks in the country.

Five-star running back Nick Singleton out of Reading, PA was the No. 27 player in the country in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He’s already up to 334 rushing yards and four touchdowns on just 30 total touches. Dynamite production.

Meanwhile, Kaytron Allen, who was ranked No. 136 in the On3 Consensus for 2022, is second behind Singleton in rushing yards. He’s notched 106 yards and two touchdowns through three games. So a crazy level of production for the true freshman tandem.

Of course, James Franklin is thrilled with the development. And no, he did not expect these two to come in and dominate they way that they have through three weeks. Because true freshman making this big of an impact for a recruiting juggernaut like Penn State is rare.

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So here was Coach Franklin on the two backfield wunderkinds and their blazing start to their careers:

“No, I have not seen two guys had this type of success in their career [this early]. We were pretty excited, obviously, signing them. We were pretty excited once they got on campus, because recruiting is wonderful. But you never truly know til they show up on campus. And they kept kind of making plays and doing things.

“They have kind of a complimentary style, but they both have the ability to make plays. I think Kaytron has got really good vision and he takes a four-yard run to a 12 or 16-yard run on a consistent basis. And then, as we know, Nick has the ability to go eight. So they’re doing well. I think Jay Weinstein has done a great job of getting them ready from a mental perspective as well — protections, all that all that stuff. But I’ve been pretty impressed.”

Bright, bright future for this pair of playmakers. They’ve exceeded any reasonable expectation already — and are blowing James Franklin’s mind in the process.