ESPN Recognizes 2 Penn State Football Players on its Top 100 List

Why Abdul Carter, Kaytron Allen made ESPN's preseason list of the top players in college football.

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen carries the ball against Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN's preseason list of the top 100 players in college football hedged strongly in the SEC's favor, with six of the top 10 hailing from the conference. It also shied away from heaping too much preseason praise on Penn State football, which landed just two players in the top 100. And one of them was a bit of surprise.

ESPN ranked Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter at No. 20 on its list, loading more expectations onto one of the most-praised players in college football this season. The Nittany Lions' second representative is running back Kaytron Allen, part of the two-back package with Nicholas Singleton that Penn State will deploy once again this season.

ESPN ranked Allen at No. 69 overall and as the Big Ten's No. 3 running back behind the Ohio State tanden of Quinshon Judkins (34) and TreVeyon Henderson (35). What's more, ESPN made this prediction about Allen.

"He has shared carries with Nicholas Singleton in his first two seasons but projects as the stronger NFL draft prospect," ESPN wrote.

The comment distinguishing Allen from Singleton is in sharp contrast to the position Penn State has taken with its two running backs over the past two seasons. Penn State coach James Franklin calls Allen and Singleton "co-starters," a role they are scheduled to share again this season in offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's system that will feature them in several ways.

Singleton and Allen enter their junior seasons at Penn State separated by just 12 career carries: Allen has 339, Singleton 327. Neither back has finished a season with 175 carries. Allen's high is 172, Singleton's is 171. They're also separated by fewer than 100 career rushing yards (Singleton has 1,813, Allen 1,769).

Penn State running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider has said that the position-sharing strategy likely won't change this season. In fact, he said their commitment to the idea is why both are still at Penn State.

"Could things have been different if they were the feature back? Yeah, we all know that they could be a 1,600-, 1,700-yard rusher easily," Seider said. "But they put aside their individual goals for team goals. And that says a lot about these two kids in this world where we can be selfish."

With two experienced backs entering their third seasons, Seider also wants them to be Penn State's go-to players in the offense — particularly in creating more explosive plays. He said the next step is for Penn State to give Allen and Singleton the chance to "win those games when it's close for us."

"I think they could, and we've got to allow them to do it for us, too, because they're talented enough to take over the game," Seider said. "People say I'm just biased, but I think they are the two best running backs in the country, and if you feed them enough, good things are going to happen."

Carter, a preseason All-American and resident of multiple award watch lists, is Penn State's defensive player who will draw the most attention. ESPN ranked him at No. 20, seeing much promise from his move to defensive end. According to ESPN, Carter recorded a pressure rate of 24.4 percent last season on 90 pass-rushing attempts. And that was as an outside linebacker, albeit in former coordinator Manny Diaz's system that sent pressure from all angles.

Carter will play both defensive and and linebacker for the Nittany Lions, who want to deploy his tackling range as well as his pass-rushing skills. As a result, this is Carter's year to position himself as a potential top-10 draft pick.

"At the end of the day, you're talking about one of the more explosive, physical athletes in all of college football," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "We think he has the ability to make a significant impact. Week to week we'll decide where he'll have the most impact for us, whether it's on the line of scrimmage at defensive end or in the linebacker position. ... That will also put us in a position where people can't game-plan and know exactly where he's going to be on the defense. So we're excited about that."

Penn State opens the 2024 season Aug. 31 at West Virginia. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.