Two Penn State players earn spot on ESPN's Top 100 list

Penn State is just a few weeks out from its season opener at West Virginia. The Nittany Lions bring back plenty of talent from last year’s 10-win team but are also replacing coordinators at all three phases of the game. That brings both excitement and questions as to how both the program overall and its best players will perform in 2024.

While players like quarterback Drew Allar, running back Nick Singleton and safety KJ Winston have received no shortage of attention from national media outlets this summer, all three were left off ESPN’s updated list Thursday for the Top 100 players in college football. In fact, only two Nittany Lions were named to this year’s list: running back Kaytron Allen and linebacker/edge rusher Abdul Carter.

That’s down substantially from last year’s list which featured six players. Both Allen and Carter were among the six who made the cut last year, along with Singleton, Olu Fashanu, Chop Robinson and Kalen King.

A year ago, ESPN slotted Carter at No. 82 nationally following a freshman season that saw him total 56 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Despite his numbers decreasing last season – 48 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks – Carter made a big jump in this year’s rankings, climbing to No. 20 overall.

“Carter became the first Penn State linebacker since 2007 to finish with at least six sacks and 10 tackles for loss in a season,” ESPN wrote. “He has since moved to defensive end, where he’ll spearhead the Nittany Lions pass rush after posting a 24.4% pressure rate on 90 pass rushing attempts last year”

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Carter has also earned strong reviews this preseason from new Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen.

“He’s a difference-maker type of guy,” Allen said. “So, you want him to be able to have multiple skill sets so he can impact the game at different positions. I feel like he is nothing but an asset to us. And, we’ll continue to balance that all out and allow him to be able to be totally prepared for game day in whatever role that might be.”

As for Allen, he didn’t move much compared to last year’s ranking, dropping just one spot from No. 68 nationally to No. 69.

“He has shared carries with Nicholas Singleton in his first two seasons but projects as the stronger NFL draft prospect,” ESPN wrote. “Allen earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last fall and has shown remarkably similar production in his first two college seasons. His usage as a pass catcher likely will increase under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.”

Over the past two seasons combined, Allen has totaled 339 carries for 1,769 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also has 34 receptions for 269 yards and two touchdowns.

“You get to do a lot of different things [in Kotelnicki’s offense],” Allen said recently. “It isn’t just you standing in the backfield. You could be in the slot. You could be the outside receiver. You’re just doing different types of things to show our talents. It’s a great offense.”