Penn State coaches promise more touches for Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen

Penn State coach James Franklin and others have emphasized two themes for the offense this season.

They want to create more explosiveness after the Nittany Lions slogged their way to 5.6 yards per play, a mediocre number.

To do that, they want to put the football in the hands of their best players more frequently.

New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki quickly determined that running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are those guys.

“My challenge to those two is let’s diversify ourselves,” Kotelnicki said. “Let’s figure out ways you can touch the ball without just taking a handoff. They’ve done a really, really good job of embracing that.”

Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, and Allen are entering their third seasons as regulars. Singleton has rushed for 1,813 career yards, and Allen has gained 1,769.

The two combined for 1,695 rushing yards last year and 389 receiving yards. But Singleton averaged just 15 touches on offense and Allen 14.

“We’re going to be smart enough to make sure they touch the ball more than they have in the past,” running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider said. “I don’t want to take shots at the guy who was here before (fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich), but if they get 6 or 7 yards on first down we’re going to be smart enough to make sure they touch it again and not try to push the ball or force some things.”

That’s music to the ears of the running backs.

“I really love it,” Singleton said. “To hear your head coach and offensive coordinator say that, it means a lot. We just have to keep working at it. It’s exciting for the team.”

Singleton and Allen will line up in different spots and will be more involved in the passing game, according to Franklin and Kotelnicki.

Singleton increased his catches last season to 26 for 308 yards and two touchdowns, including a 48-yarder against Mississippi in the Peach Bowl. Allen actually had more catches (20) as a freshman than he did last year (14).

“I definitely like this offense,” Allen said. “It got me to come out of my comfort zone to do different things. I’m still learning. It’s not always going to go the way you want. You have to do something different to get different results.

“I’m glad he (Kotelnicki) came here.”

Last year under Kotelnicki, Kansas ranked eighth in rushing nationally with 206.0 yards per game and averaged 5.37 per carry behind Devin Neal, who gained 1,280 yards on 6.3 per carry. The Jayhawks had 24 plays of at least 40 yards compared to eight for Penn State.

“I think Andy’s going to do a good job of taking advantage of our strengths and playing to them, especially in big games,” Seider said. “We know we gotta play better against Ohio State and Michigan.

“How do you do that? You have to make sure the best players touch the ball. You can’t shy away from that. Make them take away your best players. We haven’t done that.”

To underscore his point, Seider mentioned a situation in a loss to Ohio State. Singleton rushed for 20 and 16 yards on back-to-back plays to the Buckeyes’ 26 in the first quarter. Instead of staying on the ground, Yurcich called for two passes on the next two plays, which netted minus-3 yards. Penn State settled for a field goal.

“Sometimes on passing downs it’s better to hand it off to 10 (Singleton) or 13 (Allen),” Seider said. “There may be an explosive play handing it off to them.”

Singleton had seven runs of at least 40 yards as a freshman; he had none last year when his per-carry average dipped to 4.4 yards from 6.8 as a freshman.

“If you look at us last year, we got boxed in early a lot and people knew that,” Seider said. “You saw in the latter part of the year when me and Ty (fellow assistant coach Ty Howle) were calling plays, we had a lot of outside zone. Andy was already running that (at Kansas). So that will be a big part of our offense.

“We’d be crazy not to get Nick on the perimeter to let him use his speed.”

The 6-0 Singleton is up to 225 pounds, 5 pounds heavier than he was a year ago. Yet he has lowered his 40-yard dash time to 4.34 seconds. The 5-11 Allen has added 8 pounds and is up to 229.

Cam Wallace, a redshirt freshman, and Quinton Martin, who led Belle Vernon to the PIAA Class 3A title last year, are behind Singleton and Allen and have backgrounds in receiving.

“Coach Seider said the other day it’s really good for the Quinton Martins and Cam Wallaces to recognize that Nick Singleton is as committed as he is to what he’s doing, along with Kaytron,” Kotelnicki said. “They’re still getting better. They’re still improving. They’re trying to diversify themselves.”