Penn State football’s running backs let you choose how they’ll beat you. If your defensive line is stacked, they’ll pick up big-time yardage with a catch. Is your secondary comprised of ballhawks? No worries — the running backs will barrel through the defensive line.

This is what Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton have learned under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Their newfound mobility has shown itself immensely through two games, and it’s yielding positive results for the Nittany Lions.

“You can get the ball from anywhere,” Allen said Wednesday after practice. “You never know where we are going to get the ball — from outside, inside, anywhere… I can get it from the slot, catching the ball, anything.”

Allen has only one catch over the first two games so far, but it was a 20-yard touchdown against West Virginia. Singleton has two catches for 27 yards, which also includes a 14-yard touchdown against Bowling Green.

Although neither running back has had more than two receptions so far, it is likely, if not probable, that they’ll each become even more involved in the passing game as the season progresses. Allen felt comfortable with receiving despite not having done so much in his first two seasons in Happy Valley.

“It’s never been something I couldn’t do,” he said. “I just feel like I’ve been working on it in the summertime, catching the ball, things like that… I guess it’s paying off.”

Singleton has 233 rushing yards while Allen has 121. While the former has two touchdowns on the ground, the latter hasn’t yet found the end zone.

However, Allen still felt they’re both dangerous. Defensive players have previously talked about the difficulties of stopping the duo in practice, and it translates on gameday. Allen is a physical workhorse with the potential to explode, while Singleton’s elusiveness and physicality make him a home-run threat every play.

Both Singleton and Allen frequently line up together in formations under Kotelnicki’s scheme. This keeps opponents guessing which one they’ll have to deal with and whether it’ll be via the ground or air.

“We’re both on the field at the same time. It’s fun,” Allen said. “With the ball in either of our hands, we’re going to make some work with it.”

Learning how to be a better pass-catching running back as opposed to solely playing the bell-cow role on the ground has helped Allen improve. He believes he’s better at that and reading opposing defenses, and has embraced learning a new system.

“It’s something new. So of course, I might have to learn and try to do different things. It forced me to learn,” Allen said. “I don’t have a problem with that. I like learning, especially when it comes to football because I love football. So it was just something new that I hadn’t learned.”

On top of this, Allen was impressed with the confidence level of the running back room. He cited running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider for this, who is in his seventh season at Penn State.

“It starts with coach Seider,” he said. “He made sure we’re confident. He made sure we know we’re the baddest motherf—-s on the field.”