Penn State returns one of college football's finest running back tandems in juniors Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. However, beyond that accomplished pair, no scholarship positional peer on the 2024 Nittany Lions roster has handled a single college game snap.
Regarding depth chart competitions that don't involve a starting job at stake, this dynamicof inexperience makes the battle for third-string running back duties particularly compelling. Whoever prevails will not only be nextup behind Allen and Singleton to begin the 2024 campaign, butland at the forefront of a long-term competition to ultimately replace those two atop backfield plans.
If each remains healthy this autumn, Allen and Singleton are widely expected to turn pro next winter. That's been the expectation in State College since both burst onto the scene in 2022, when Singleton earned Big Ten OffensiveFreshmanof the Year recognition and Allen was twice named conference Freshman of the Week.
Through two collegiate campaigns, Allen and Singleton own a combined4,244 yards from scrimmage and 42 touchdowns. Three other scholarship options on the 2024 spring roster— redshirt freshmen London Montgomery and Cam Wallace, and freshmanQuinton Martin — haven't entered a matchup since high school.
"It's an exciting room. Should be a lot of competition," Penn State head coach James Franklin said last week during a press conference to begin spring practices. "We kind of have an idea of who Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allenare, just like you guys do. All those guys still need to get better and be developed and get reps. We need to figure out who the other guys are and who is going to be the third and fourth back."
In addition to the three aforementioned contenders, Franklinpointed to the presence of walk-on running backsAmiel Davis (redshirt junior), Tyler Holzworth (redshirt junior), and David Kency (redshirt freshman). He alsonoted the upcoming summer enrollment of freshman Corey Smith, a four-star signee out ofCatholic Memorial (Waukesha, Wis.).
Martin and Smith represent Penn State's third consecutive two-man running back recruiting class, following Allen and Singleton (2022) and Montgomery and Wallace (2023), who arrived in Happy Valley last May. Unlike encountering the national stardom that awaited their predecessors, Montgomery and Wallace spent their first year on campus handling scout-team duties while Allen, Singleton, and veteran Minnesota transfer Trey Potts filled the position's topthree spots.
Potts played sparingly in his lone season at Penn State, but managed to account for four total touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving, one passing) on fewer than 30 offensive touches.He gained 12-plus yards on eight of those opportunties (30 percent) and also served as a secondary kickoff returner alongside Singleton before electing to pass on COVID eligibilityin favor of a shot at NFL opportunties.
Potts gained a close look at early progression for Montgomery and Wallace.
"I was like, wow, they look better than me when I was a freshman. ... I'm excited for their future," Potts said last Friday at Penn State Pro Day.
Montgomery made his Nittany Lions practice debut last August, less than a full year removed from tearing an ACL. Prior to the injury, as a junior at Scranton Prep (Pa.), he totaled2,536 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns, and the Penn State staffexpected him to reach 3,000 yards as a senior if healthy.
"He's a straight-line guy. Like when he hits it, he hits it," Potts said.
Leading up to his earliest PSU practices last summer, running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider emphasized the importance of shaking off rust from a medical setback.
"Stop worrying about expectations... relax.Your job is to get healthy," Seider said. "The best thing is you got is Nick, Kaytron and Trey– the older guys in front of you. Take a deep breath. ... Be a freshman. Learn how to walk and talk first before you worry about how you run out there on the football field."
Last week, Franklin complimented Montgomery's on-field skills but offered a caveat when it came to overall development.
"Every time he gets on the football field he really does some good things for us, but he has not changed his body a whole lot," Franklin said. "I think he's still only 185 pounds, so that's going to make it challenging for him. But in terms of football, he's pretty good. He's done some really good things for us at practice."
Like last summer, Montgomery is listed 5-foot-10, 186 pounds. He must make physical strides to instill increased confidence within the coaching staff.
"He's just got to understand there's some things that he's going to have to do off the field to allow those things to translate on the field," Franklin said. "It's just very different. You're trying to block (Penn State defenders) Kobe King and Abdul Carter at 250 pounds and you're 185 pounds. I was not a math major, but that usually doesn't go very well."
Conversely, Wallace has been a notable gainer within Penn State's 2023 class. Announced on Signing Day (December 2022) at 5-9, 175 pounds, he wasup to 191 pounds by the end of last season. A pre-spring roster update revealed him to be 199 pounds in Year 2.
"Cam is an exciting guy," Franklin said. "Really did some good things this whole offseason. Put some good weight on, some good size on, hasn't lost really any of his quickness and explosive movements. Been very, very pleased with him. Really handled that redshirt process the right way."
The leading rusher and passer forMontgomery County (Mount Vernon, Ga.) High School as a senior,Wallace also warranted recruiting attention at defensive back and carried an "athlete" label from 247Sports. Penn State signed him knowing heneeded to round out at running back, buying intoa tantalizingset oftraits.
"The thing I really love about Cam is he's explosive," Seider said lastsummer. "We might have stolen this kid. ... He's got juice — like real juice.He's got a lot of ability that a lot of guys on our team don't have, and we've got to take advantage of that. I mean, his short-area quickness is elite."
Potts focused on Wallace's physicality as a freshman.
"He's kind of a bruiser," Potts said. "But he can bounce and has great balance."
Moving onto Martin, a January enrollee and longtime Nittany Lions target out ofBelle Vernon (Pa.) High School, he didn't shy away from a lineage of high-level competition in this Nittany Lions running back room.
"I grew up watching Penn State football," Martin told 247Sports after committing to the program. "I think what put a nail on it was watchingSaquon Barkleyplay and how he just thrived, how he ran hard. Just watching him play, I was like, 'Oh, I want to do that. I want to do something like he did.'"
Barkley headlines the list of Pennsylvania running back talents who've picked PSU and produced success during the past decade. It's a collection that also includes Singleton, Journey Brownand Miles Sanders.
Last week, Franklin explained that Martin "was attracted to come to Penn State and continue on that long line of very, very successful college and NFL tailbacks", and referenced him as "a guy that was used a ton of different ways in high school as a receiver and running back."Martin capped hisBelle Vernon career with a state championship run, producing nearly 1,200 rushing yards,nearly 800 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns.
"We were a little bit surprised when he got here," Franklin said. "A really good football player, a really good football program, but was kind of raw in terms of running a 40, and getting in a stance, and the weight room and things like that. So we just think he's going to continue to kind of grow and explode dramatically over these next couple of months."
Standing 6-1, Martin "has the frame to carry a lot of weight", noted Franklin. Introduced by Penn State last December at 185 pounds, he is nowlisted nine pounds heavier.
"(He)already has changed his body, has already gotten stronger," Franklin said.
That's strong early feedback on a top-150 prospect in 247Sports' Class of 2024 rankings. Amongrunning backs signed by Penn State since Seider was hired in 2018, only Singleton (98; 2022) and Devyn Ford (95; 2019) carried a higher rating than Martin (94).
During PSU's Signing Day broadcast, Martin didn't waver from a confident stance regarding college acclimation.
"Anybody on the field, I'll compete against you," he said. "I believe no one on that field is better than me— when I'm out there I'm the best on the field at all times. I believe I'm tough, very fast, and I feel like I help my teammates all around me."
On Signing Day, Franklin lauded Martin and aforementioned fellow 2024 running back recruit Corey Smith for their prowess as pass-catchers along as ball-carriers.
"I actually think both Quinton and Corey could play wide receiver for us," he said.
Smith will gain his first chance to flash on the practice field in August, facing an uphill battle to carve out some kind of consistent Saturday work. Martin is the team's first early enrollee at running back since Allen and Singleton arrived together two years ago, and aims to lay serious foundation through the April 13 Blue-White Game.
If things go according to plan for Penn State this fall, Allen and Singleton will look elite while being fed the vast majority of consequential game work. But running back is a position of attrition and, though both havemanaged to avoid long stays on the sideline through two college seasons, the No. 3 running back is only one play away from becoming a crucial piece of plans forfor a squad carrying College Football Playoff expectations.
Whoever emerges as the "next man up" ahead of an Aug. 31 opener at West Virginia will have separatedthemselvesamong young, unproven commodities, while boosting their stock for a much, much larger role in 2025.Beyonditsballyhooed lead duo, there isplenty at stake in Penn State's running back room.
