Rumors began to swirl on Monday, as other Penn State football players declared for the 2025 NFL Draft or the transfer portal, that junior running back Nicholas Singleton was no longer enrolled in the school and was certainly heading for the professional game.
After a historic junior campaign from the “Lawn Boyz”, it was assumed by many that both Singleton and fellow running back Kaytron Allen would forgo their senior seasons. However, in a shocking decision, the likely early-round draft picks and three-year starters both announced their return to Penn State for 2025.
Breaking: Penn State RBs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton are both returning to Happy Valley next season, both announced on social media.
— ESPN (@espn) January 13, 2025
The backs are ranked 5th and 6th respectively in Mel Kiper's latest RB draft rankings. pic.twitter.com/ND3usdn9yW
In a loaded running back draft class, it’s possible that both Singleton and Allen can earn a bigger payday through NIL by staying in college than they would on rookie deals in the league. In their announcements, both sighted unaccomplished team goals as a big part of their reasoning, and one of the best parts of the NIL era is that it allows players to pursue those with their teammates without missing out on prime earning potential years as an athlete.
With Singleton and Allen both returning, Penn State has opened as one of the early favorites to win the 2026 national championship. In 2024, the duo became the first in Penn State history to each rush for 1,000 yards in the same season, and both cracked the program’s top 10 in career rushing yards. Allen led the team with 1,108 yards on 220 carries while Singleton rushed for 1,099 yards on 172 attempts with a team-high 12 touchdowns.
There was an argument to be made that Penn State’s backfield duo was the best in the country in 2024, with Ohio State’s tandem of QuinShon Judkins and Treveyon Henderson and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price as the primary competition. Love and Price are both expected back in South Bend next year, but with Judkins and Henderson likely to declare for the draft after Monday night’s national championship game against the Irish, the Lawn Boyz will easily be the best backfield in the Big Ten.
Singleton and Allen aren’t the only members of Penn State’s loaded 2022 recruiting class who are returning to Happy Valley next season. Quarterback Drew Allar, defensive tackle Zane Durant, and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton all plan to return. Of that class, Kevin Winston Jr. and Abdul Carter are the only two who have declared for the draft. Head coach James Franklin was also able to retain offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, who unlocked Allar in tandem with Penn State’s hyper-efficient run game in 2024.
Allen and Singleton say that they have unfinished business at Penn State, and with the roster that Franklin will return in 2025, they’ll have a great chance to finish it.