After a heartbreaking end to a deep playoff run, Penn State football came up just one game short of reaching the national championship. In the loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals, the Nittany Lions struggled on offense, notching zero catches by a wide receiver and leaving the offense one-dimensional outside of Tyler Warren.

Penn State’s running attack wasn’t to blame for the loss, as Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen averaged 5.6 and 4.3 yards per carry, respectively. Singleton tallied the team’s three touchdowns and had 84 yards on 15 carries.

After the game, it was unclear if the dynamic duo would return to Penn State for their senior year. However, on January 19, Singleton announced he would return for his final year of eligibility.

“I wanted to come back because of how the season ended. Everyone was upset,” Singleton said Tuesday. “I learned that most players we came in with as freshmen were coming back too, and they came to compete for a national championship, so that called me to come back.”

Singleton and Allen announced they would return on the same day, but before their announcements, Drew Allar, Zakee Wheatley, and Zane Durant also announced they would return in 2025.

“We try to give each other space after the game and deal with [the loss], and then we came together,” Singleton said. “We decided we wanted to come back and finish our last year together.”

Singleton had his best season as a Nittany Lion in 2024, notching 1,099 rushing yards with 12 touchdowns on 172 carries. Additionally, he picked up 375 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. Allen had an outstanding year as well, with over 1,100 yards on the ground on 220 carries and 10 total touchdowns.

In the offseason, Penn State hired Stan Drayton from Temple to replace Ja’Juan Seider as the Nittany Lions’ new running backs coach. The job became available as Seider took a lateral move to Notre Dame after the 2024 season.

“His resume speaks for itself. He’s coached a lot of good players and was on some good teams, a national championship team. He’s seen it all,” Singleton said. “Coach Dray has been really good. Good coach on the field and off the field, too. We love him.”

Before becoming Temple’s head coach in 2021, Drayton was the running backs coach at Texas, Ohio State, Florida, Syracuse, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. He also coached for the Chicago Bears in the NFL. Drayton has coached notable players like Ezekiel Elliott, Carlos Hyde, Bijan Robinson, Matt Forte, and Jordan Howard.

“It’s a lot more work. He told us when he got here that we’re gonna push ourselves. We’re going to work together,” Singleton said. “We’re sweating, but we’re just happy to be out here.”

James Franklin commented on Singleton and his need to be “more creative” in the open field. Singleton agreed with his coach, noting the individual drills the staff has the Nittany Lion and the rest of the running back room completing.

After three complete seasons, Singleton has had 2,912 rushing yards, landing him at No. 10 in program history. The Nittany Lion will aim to chase down Evan Royster, who rushed for 3,932 yards between 2007 to 2010.