What Penn State Football can expect from heralded early enrollees

Penn State Football running back – Kaytron Allen

Kaytron Allen probably does not get the level of recognition he deserves in this 2022 Penn State Football recruiting class, and it’s understandable why.

However, Allen is still an incredible back who played against top-level high school competition at IMG Academy, and he does a lot of things well.

The biggest way that Allen will benefit from enrolling early is that he has a chance to prove to the staff that he deserves early playing time, as he is already a (near) complete back.

Allen is a powerful runner at 220 pounds, and he has great leg drive to churn out additional yards. He is also elusive in space and is a solid pass-catching back. Perhaps his best asset is that he is very refined in pass-protection, so he could be the go-to guy on third down.

Allen’s only downside is that, while he is quick laterally avoids tackles well, he does not have that top-end, breakaway, straight-line speed of some former Nittany Lion running backs. For that reason, his biggest area to develop throughout the winter and spring would be working with new strength and conditioning coach Chuck Losey to try to improve his top-end speed.

Even without elite straight-line speed that would hinder his ability to be a “home run hitter”, Allen does virtually everything well, and his power and elusiveness will allow him to be productive on a down-to-down basis. The freshman running back can use this time to prove that his game translates to the collegiate level, as well as work on getting faster.