Penn State's Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen named among nation’s best running backs

Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are both within reach of the Penn State all-time rushing record entering their senior seasons.

Their careers to this point have earned them strong reputations nationally, as both earned spots on the Doak Walker Award watch list Tuesday. Semifinalists and finalists for the nation’s top running back award will be announced in November, while the award will be given in mid-December.

Penn State was one of 28 schools to land multiple candidates on the watch list.

Singleton and Allen have both been added to the Maxwell Award watch list, while Singleton alone made it on the Walter Camp Award watch list. Both are given to college football’s player of the year.

Singleton has a pair of 1,000-yard rushing season to this point in his career. He also sits just 1,020 yards shy of Evan Royster’s 3,932 at the top of program history.

Allen, meanwhile, crossed the century mark for the first time last season and has steadily increased his output since 2022. He’s slightly behind Singleton, 1,055 yards short of Royster’s mark.