Penn State RB Trey Potts fills in for injured Kaytron Allen, steps up in win vs. Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — Ja’Juan Seider, Penn State’s running backs coach, had two words for Trey Potts on the Ryan Field sidelines: Get ready.

Kaytron Allen was out after suffering an injury in the first half of Penn State’s 41-13 win over Northwestern. It was time for Potts, the third-string vet, to step in.

“For me, when my opportunity comes, I’m just trying to do anything I can to help this team win,” Potts said. “It happened today.”

It sure did. Potts, a Williamsport native and Minnesota transfer, scored two touchdowns against the Wildcats. He found the end zone on a 13-yard run that tied the score at 10-10 in the second quarter. In the fourth, he chipped in an insurance score, securing a 30-yard catch-and-run from Beau Pribula.

Potts has hit the trifecta the last few weeks. In Penn State’s win at Illinois, he had a passing touchdown on a trick play. Potts is a man of many talents, providing a spark when the offense has, at times, looked disjointed on the road in Big Ten play.

A situation like Saturday is why Penn State was so pleased to add Potts this offseason. The Nittany Lions needed a veteran to cover for Allen and Nick Singleton. And they needed someone who wouldn’t mind taking a backseat after seeing Caziah Holmes, Devyn Ford and Keyvone Lee transfer out since the dynamic duo’s arrival.

Seider was clear with Potts when he expressed interest in transferring that there are two NFL-caliber backs in front of him. He didn’t care. The Pennsylvania native wanted to come home, and he wanted to be a part of this team.

Potts has been the model teammate since enrolling. He has owned his role. That makes it easy for his teammates to celebrate his two-touchdown day.

“I’m very happy for Trey,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “He’s done a lot of good things since he’s got on campus. He didn’t play much in the first couple of games, and that’s probably just because of his experience level with his playbook. But he’s been able to maximize the opportunities he’s been getting, and today it really showed. He’s a great guy to be around, and I’m definitely glad he’s on our team.”

“That’s my guy,” Singleton said. “He’s the older cat in the running back room. He always asks questions. You never see him complain about anything. He comes to work every day. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

That respect comes from how Potts has handled his business. It also comes from his wealth of experience, spending four years at Minnesota before transferring.

Filling in for Allen was familiar territory for Potts. Two years ago, he replaced Gophers star Mohamed Ibrahim, who suffered a season-ending injury. Potts rushed for 552 yards and six touchdowns in five games before getting hurt himself.

“For me, I’ve been in that position before,” Potts said. “I prepare and practice like a starter, week-in and week-out. So when my number was called, I was prepared.”

Moving forward, it will be noteworthy to see how serious Allen’s injury may or may not be. Talent-wise, he’s still a level above Potts. Penn State will want him back at the very least for Ohio State after a bye week and a game against UMass.

But as coach James Franklin put it after the win over Northwestern, Potts’ performance proved something: “We’ve got three backs we can win with in this league.”

“Trey Potts is a great example,” Franklin said. “He doesn’t get a whole lot of reps, a whole lot of burn in the first couple of games. But he just kept a great attitude and kept working. And when he got his opportunities, he maximized them.”