Penn State’s Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen impose their will on Illinois [opinion]

Running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider knew what he and Penn State had not long after Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen arrived on campus.

It was the spring of 2022, and they were behind three veterans: Keyvone Lee, Devyn Ford and Caziah Holmes. It didn’t matter. Lee, Ford and Holmes transferred within six months.

“I watched them versus our defense,” Seider recalled last year. “I was like, ‘Man, these guys are different.’ They made their presence felt from day one. Our guys thought twice about how to tackle these guys because of how physical and violent they ran.

“They gave our offense an identity and a toughness. That’s when I knew these guys were gonna be special.”

Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen were the best players on the field for most of Penn State’s hard-hitting 21-7 victory over Illinois Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.

They combined to rush for 196 yards and two touchdowns and ran violently just like they did two years ago as newbies during their first spring practice.

“I mean, they ran hard,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “There were a lot of guys that they were running over tonight. That sets a tone for us as an offense. When they’re running people over, just putting them on the ground and gaining an extra 3 or 4 yards, that’s a big help to our offense.”

The most vivid example of that came early in the third quarter. On third-and-7 from the Penn State 47, Singleton first bowled over a rushing defensive end, caught a pass short of the sticks and then trucked defensive back Miles Scott for 9 yards and the first down.

He was asked what was the best part of running over Scott.

“I guess it’s taking his soul out and letting him know that I was going to be there all night,” Singleton said. “Don’t think twice about trying to tackle (him) and maybe think about doing it some type of different way.”

Singleton scored a few plays later and finished with 94 yards on 16 carries and 139 all-purpose yards.

Allen carried 18 times for 102 yards and got his first rushing touchdown of the season, a 5-yard burst through the middle that sealed it with less than two minutes to go. He celebrated by pretending to kick down a door.

“I was determined,” he said. “I had to let it all out. I love football so much. It means so much to me. When I got into the end zone, I damn near wanted to cry.”

The two of them have made defenders cry for more than two seasons. Allen also lowered his shoulder several times to get extra yards against Illinois, a team that prides itself on being more physical than its opponents.

“We knew that going in we had to be tough and physical, that we had to get the offense going,” Allen said. “We leaned on the offensive line. The boys up front played a great game.”

Nick Dawkins, Vega Ioane, Drew Shelton, Anthony Donkoh, Nolan Rucci and Cooper Cousins made up for the loss of Sal Wormley and JB Nelson, who left the game with injuries and did not return.

Penn State wound up rushing for 239 yards, more than Illinois had running and passing combined. The Lions are averaging 251.0 yards on the ground, first in the Big Ten and ninth in the country.

“They just had a different mentality,” Singleton said about the offensive line. “They told each other they wanted to take over the game and finish the game the right way. They made our jobs easier.”

Allen joined Singleton Saturday night with more than 2,000 career rushing yards. The only other set of Penn State teammates in that exclusive club are Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris.

“That’s a pretty good group to be associated with,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “That’s a pretty cool stat there.”

The impact of Singleton and Allen goes beyond numbers; it’s their mentality, their laser focus and their willingness to inflict punishment that inspires their teammates and crushes the spirit of defenders.

“We take a lot of pride in our physicality,” Singleton said. “Coach Seider’s always talking about making dirty runs. Illinois is a good team. We knew we had to wear them out with that physicality.”

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