Penn State All 105: Kaytron Allen Ready for Year 3 at PSU, Year 1 With Andy Kotelnicki

Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton have made up one of America’s most formidable one-two running back punches over the past two seasons, much to the delight of Penn State and its fans.

After the Rose Bowl in which Penn State beat Utah to end the 2022 season, everyone was talking about Singleton.

He was the one who had an 87-yard touchdown run that Penn State fans will relive for the rest of time. But the next season, it was Allen who was, at least statistically, the better runner. Allen is the subject in our latest edition of All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player.

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 225 pounds

Hometown: Norfolk, Virginia 

Before Penn State: Kaytron Allen spent his freshman year at Norview High School in Virginia. He rushed for 1,465 yards and 16 touchdowns, earning Maxpreps Freshman All-American and All-Eastern District honors. Allen then transferred to IMG Academy to play his last three years of high school. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards and matched his freshman year output of 16 touchdowns his first season at IMG. In his junior year, he rushed for 515 yards and nine touchdowns. In his senior year, he rushed for 1,400 yards and 27 touchdowns as IMG was ranked the No. 1 team in the country by USA Today. Allen was selected to play in 2022 Under Armor All-American Game. Allen was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals, On3, 247Sport and ESPN. He was ranked the No 157 overall prospect, No. 11 overall running back and No. 19 player in Florida by 247Sports. ESPN rated him No. 147 overall and 11th among running backs, as well as No. 18 in Florida. Allen committed to Penn State July 16, 2021.

2022: Kaytron Allen and classmate Nick Singleton became a formidable RB duo as true freshmen. Allen ended the season with 867 yards and 10 touchdowns on 167 carries and finished with more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage. He and Singleton became the first pair of Big Ten running backs to rush for more than 700 yards in a season.

Last year: Allen and Singleton had almost the exact same amount of carries (Allen had one more at 172). Yet, Allen ended the season with 150 more rushing yards (902 to 752) and only two fewer touchdowns (8 to 6 in favor of Singleton. Singleton separated himself in the receiving game, ending the year with 308 yards compared to Allen’s 81. But from a pure running standpoint, it’s hard to argue Allen wasn’t the better back in 2023. Allen and Singleton shared team offensive player of the year honors as named by Penn State. Allen’s play earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors.

Where he stands: Penn State’s set to have the same backfield tandem as its had the past two seasons but with a new offensive coordinator. The program fired OC Mike Yurcich last November and hired Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas weeks later. In an interview with Penn State’s beat reporters after a spring practice, Allen mentioned how he’s lining up in multiple areas in Kotelnicki’s scheme. That could lead to Allen’s receiving numbers going up in 2024. In any case, Allen’s expected to continue to produce in the run game.

A quote by Allen: “You get to do a lot of different things. 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.” — Allen on Kotelnicki’s offense this spring

A quote about Allen: ”He is a tough guy. Every run, he’s usually breaking tackles, punishing tacklers, carrying guys for another two or three yards.” — coach James Franklin on Allen last November

More All 105s

WR Anthony Ivey

DE Abdul Carter

RB Nicholas Singleton

QB Beau Pribula 

WR Tyler Johnson

CB Zion Tracy

WR Kaden Saunders

WR Trey Wallace 

S Zakee Wheatley

CB Cam Miller

WR Omari Evans

CB A.J. Harris

CB Jalen Kimber

WR Julian Fleming 

S KJ Winston

WR Liam Clifford

S Jaylen Reed 

LB Dom DeLuca