Penn State's James Franklin Was 'Surprised' With Two Key Offseason Decisions

Penn State coach James Franklin spent part of his team's College Football Playoff run negotiating deals for next season. It wasn't his preferred plan, and something he wanted to discuss with college football during the offseason. However, the necessity yielded two major returns.

Following the Orange Bowl, Penn State running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen both announced that they would return for their fourth seasons, establishing a huge offensive opportunity for the Nittany Lions. The tandem decisions stunned many, including Franklin.

"To be honest, I was surprised when they both came back," Franklin said during an appearance on the Triple Option Podcast. "I thought it would be similar to our tight end situation [in 2023], where we had Tyler Warren and Theo Johnson, and once one decided to leave, the other stayed. I thought it would be similar. But I think they've bought into our philosophy here."

Penn State returns the nation's best backfield, according to Pro Football Focus, in Singleton and Allen, who have formed a successful three-year tandem. Both ran for 1,000 yards during Penn State's 13-win season and both can break the program's career-rushing record (Evan Royster's 3,932 yards) this season but with potentially fewer carries.

That goes to the heart of Franklin's philosophy regarding the backs. In their three seasons of sharing the position, neither Singleton nor Allen has topped 225 carries in a year. Allen's high was 220 last year, when Singleton ran 172 times, limited partly by an injury.

Allen has carried the ball 559 times in his career; Singleton just 499. Franklin said they're all-in on the system which maximizes their skill while minimizing their touches in a workshare environment.

"We don't want to be in a situation where we're sending a running back to the NFL and he's got 300-400 carries on the season, and the NFL feels like he's beat up and [there's] not a whole lot of tread left on the tires," Franklin said on the podcast. "Our guys understand they're really good complementary pieces. It's going to be really good for their longevity and their careers."

Franklin also pointed to the offensive line behind which Singleton and Allen will run. The Nittany Lions return five linemen with starting experience, including potential first-round draft pick Vega Ioane at guard and captain Nick Dawkins at center. This offensive line believes in itself.

Position coach Phil Trautwein hung posters in offensive line's meeting room that read, "This is our year" above a photo of the Joe Moore Award, presented annually to college football's best offensive line. Penn State has never won the award. Trautwein said he has a contender, which Franklin echoed.

"The other thing that really helped, that no one wants to talk about, is we’ve got a chance to have one of the best offensive lines in college football this year," Franklin said on the podcast. "That plays a big part in [Singleton and Allen's decisions] as well. They know who’s coming back in front of them. That’s going to be helpful. Then we went out in the transfer portal and got a little bit of help at wide receiver, because if people are concerned about our passing game, that’s going to help our running game as much as anything."

Check out more from Franklin on the Triple Option podcast, hosted by Mark Ingram II, Urban Meyer and Rob Stone.