There was every reason to expect the 2024 season to be the last for Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen at Penn State.
Done with their junior year, either could have jumped to the NFL. Or tested the waters in the transfer portal, looking for a major program where either could have been a feature back, chasing awards along with a healthy NIL paycheck.
Keeping one would have been a massive victory for the Nittany Lions. Keeping both seemed like a pipe dream — the least likely scenario.
And yet, that was exactly what happened.
Both Singleton and Allen publicly announced they would return for their senior seasons on Monday within 10 minutes of each other on social media.
“We have accomplished a lot here, and we took another big step forward this season,” Singleton wrote. “But we know we are capable of being even better.
“After discussing my football future with my family, I have decided to return to Penn State for the 2025 season. We still have goals we want to reach as a team, and I want to be alongside my teammates as we reach those goals.”
Singleton is on track to graduate in the fall and will head to the draft in 2026.
Allen will follow the same path.
“Penn State has been an extraordinary experience for me,” Allen wrote. “This has led to my decision to return for the 2025 season. Throughout my life, my family and support system has been critical in helping me in my football journey.
“Through discussions with them, my coaches and teammates, it’s clear that we still have a lot more to accomplish as a team at Penn State.”
With both veteran running backs and quarterback Drew Allar all announcing their return for 2025, the Lions will take a shot at another run at the national title after falling two wins short this season.
Singleton and Allen fueled College Football Playoff wins over SMU and Boise State. Both played well in an Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame.
Allen ran for 286 yards and two touchdowns in three playoff games while Singleton was right behind him with 261 yards and five touchdowns, including three scores against the Fighting Irish.
Thanks in part to the extra games, they became the first pair of Penn State teammates to top 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.
“The best duo in the country is back for year 4!” running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider wrote on social media. “Let’s go make history fellas. … Came in together and going to finish it together!”
The challenge now for Penn State is building a passing game to complement one of the country’s best backfields.
The Lions lose the top tight end in the nation, Tyler Warren, to the NFL. Warren won the Mackey Award and was the first player in school history to top 100 receptions in a season.
Penn State still has a deep and talented tight end room, returning Khalil Dinkins and Luke Reynolds, along with another talented option in Andrew Rappleyea, who missed nearly all of 2024 with an injury. The Lions also signed one of the top tight end recruits in the country in Andrew Olesh.
But the wide receiver room could be facing an overhaul as a top wideout was arguably the biggest piece missing from the 2024 squad.
Harrison Wallace and Omari Evans would be the top returning options — assuming both stick with the Lions rather than look for more pass-friendly offenses elsewhere.
Penn State has already landed two receivers from the transfer portal in USC’s Kyron Hudson and Troy’s Devonte Ross. A pair of reserve wideouts from last season — Mehki Flowers and Tyler Johnson — are no longer on the roster, presumably headed for the portal themselves.