Penn State freshmen make impact, build excitement [opinion]

Penn State’s highly rated freshman class arrived earlier this year and quickly made an impression on coaches and teammates.

“I said in the summer that I felt like we had more guys in this freshman class who would be able to contribute (this season),” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said. “The freshman class being one of the better freshman classes we’ve brought in — I’m not talking about recruiting rankings; I’m talking about production on the field — that’s been great.”

Penn State’s Class of 2022 stood out Saturday in a 45-14 win at Indiana.

Kaytron Allen rushed for 86 yards and three touchdowns and caught two passes for 72 yards. Gov. Mifflin grad Nick Singleton ran for 73 yards and one TD. Drew Shelton made his first start, at left tackle, and did not allow a sack.

On defense, end Dani Dennis-Sutton had three tackles and his first career interception. Linebacker Abdul Carter had one tackle and broke up a pass.

And, of course, there was quarterback Drew Allar, who passed for 75 yards and two scores in the final 1.5 quarters.

Freshmen accounted for six touchdowns and almost half of Penn State’s 483 total yards.

“Honestly, when they come in, we can trust them a lot because we know what they do in practice and watching film,” defensive end Chop Robinson said. “So it was not a lot of overthinking. We can breathe more (when they go in). So it is a good thing for us.”

The freshmen are the Lions’ present and future. Shelton became the fourth true freshman to start a game, along with Allen, Carter and Singleton. Eleven of the 25-member class have seen action and played a role in Penn State being 4-2 in the Big Ten and 7-2 overall.

Franklin had hoped to redshirt Shelton, the former Downingtown West standout, but those plans changed when Olu Fashanu suffered an undisclosed injury last week and did not make the trip to Indiana. It’s uncertain when Fashanu might return.

“He’s very athletic,” right tackle Bryce Effner said about Shelton. “He’s got the build for it. He still needs to kind of grow into his body, just like every freshman offensive lineman that comes in. That’s not uncommon.

“He definitely has all the necessities to be an amazing offensive lineman. I thought he played great today. I’m super proud of him. I think he’s gonna be a great offensive lineman.”

Allen and Singleton ran behind Shelton, among others, and enjoyed productive afternoons. With eight rushing touchdowns apiece, they’re tied for the school record for a freshman that was set by Noah Cain in 2019.

Singleton, with a team-high 679 yards, and Allen, with 558, both have more yards than Keyvone Lee had each of the last two seasons when he led Penn State in rushing.

“We have two really good backs who we’re obviously excited about,” Franklin said. “They’re getting a ton of reps and a ton of experience.

“Being able to check down and hit a Kaytron Allen and him breaking it for 40 or 50 yards, they’re big-time plays. To be able to hand the ball off to Nick Singleton and he’s a threat to score at any point in the game and go 80, those things are really valuable.”

Quarterback Sean Clifford said he can recall when Allen arrived at Penn State in January and how much he’s changed since then, including losing significant weight.

“To say that he’s anywhere close to the player that he is now compared to then would be an understatement,” Clifford said. “He is the most improved player I think I’ve seen in my career in such a short time.”

The best player in the class might be the 6-5 Dennis-Sutton, who was rated the top recruit in the class, just ahead of Singleton. He has three sacks and 14 tackles in nine games and returned his interception 20 yards, showing some athletic skills.

“He does not look like a freshman,” Franklin said. “He’s 265 pounds and one of the fastest guys in our program. … He’s productive. He’s smart. He’s disciplined. He’s mature. We got a bunch of guys like that.”

Much of the fans’ recent focus has been on Allar, a five-star prospect, and whether he should unseat Clifford as the starter. He’s played in seven games, completing 27-of-43 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers.

“He’s a giant human being with a quick release who can get the ball out and make all the throws,” Franklin said last week about the 6-5, 238-pound Allar. “He has tremendous arm talent. Some big, strong guys are not very accurate. He has shown to be accurate. He can throw from different launch points.

“He is doing a lot of things well, but he’s still a true freshman.”

Penn State took 17 freshmen on the trip to Indiana. It’s a class that has great promise and that already has made an impact. But if the Lions want to close the gap with Ohio State, they have to stack top 10 recruiting classes.

“We not only have to continue to develop and recruit at the quarterback position,” Franklin said, “but we also need to make sure we surround those guys with as much talent as possible so we give ourselves the best chance to win week in and week out no matter who the competition is.

“How do you get all the pieces of the puzzle here at the same time? Sometimes we’ve been really strong at one position and inexperienced at another. We’re trying to build a team and a program that’s hitting on all cylinders all the time.”