FTB on KSN: Projecting The Legacies of Penn State RBs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton

[Music] Chris we got a fun topic for today you did an article this week you could find it on forthe blog.com talking about Penn State running back tandems now Penn State has an incredible history of running backs and running back tandems first of all just tell us what prompted you to to write this article well Jim I think anybody who's been listening to or watching the obligatory pregame show or podcast over the years knows that my co-host Kevin Horn and I both have a real passion for Penn State history and Penn State football history and I think if you can Orient what's happening on the field in the present day in the larger context of the ongoing story of the program it makes it more fun to be a fan it makes the experience richer and so when I think about Penn State's history at the tailback position and all the great players we've had there naturally that leads me to think about how many great combos of backs we've had at the same time because we recruit so well at running backs often you have a guy who's too good to keep off the field and right now what we've got in Nick Singleton and KRON Allen either of whom could go to practically any FBS program in the country and be the Undisputed number one overall starter is pretty special and so I just thought as we're going into what we all think is going to be the last year for both of these guys I thought I'd look at how they stack up against some of their predecessors in terms of the great running back Duos we've had in blue and white well we got to start with this though you're judging running back tandems you had to have some parameters how did you define a tandem yeah so these guys are somewhat unique in that their careers are exactly the same Seasons so they came in at the same time they're going to leave at the same time and so I looked at how they fit with some of the other tandems who played their entire careers together but I also looked at what were some of the great single season efforts from a pair of Penn State running backs and for that I made a cut off of a 7030 split between the lead back and the complimentary back the lower producing of the two running backs had to have at least 30% of the yardage as an oldtime Penn State fan an old guy I prefer The Experience fan Chris yes I go way back to me the definitive running back tandem in Penn State history is liell Mitchell and Franco Harris right I'm I'm an old guy so maybe I'm kind of rooting for the old guys what did you find out who were what was the lead pair that you found in the history of Penn State running backs well you are right to romanticize the liel Mitchell Franco Harris backfield Jim in fact my number one takeaway from doing this research is that we probably don't talk about them or appreciate them enough if you go back to the shared career those guys had from 1969 to 1971 they're number one overall in terms of a pair of running backs who had a shared career and then if you look at the best single season performances from a tandem of Penn State running backs they 1971 absolutely unbelievable mindboggling numbers is number one overall those guys got in the end zone together a total of 32 times that year a great season for Penn State too they were 11 and one and uh beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl so really leadership on the field for a great nitty Lions team and for the younger folks in the audience who don't know both went on to tremendous professional success I'm sure there are a lot of Steelers fans who know the Franco Harris career number and accomplishments by heart four Super Bowl rings the Immaculate Reception enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame lidel Mitchell also no slouch is probably fell just short of enshrinement in Canton but is a College Football Hall of Famer and is still to this day Jim behind edrian James number two overall in Colts franchise history for total rushing yards and I think uh because Franco went to the NFL became a Hall of Famer and again because it's a Steeler that's in Pennsylvania a lot of Penn State fans lidel Mitchell probably gets overlooked a bit he was actually the lead back of the two though in college right yeah no question and and you and I talked about it a little bit on your radio show Franco actually ends up getting drafted higher in part because Joe was worried about him getting overlooked and and called up the Steelers organization and went to bat for him and said you got to get some Scouts to come appreciate the skill set this guy has and obviously it worked out very well for Pittsburgh all right so Kon Allen Nick Singleton they were second in the single season total for a tandem how are they doing as far as the career totals as a tandem well if my number one takeaway was that we ought to appreciate the Mitchell Harris backfield more at Penn State my number two takeaway is that in the present day we need to appreciate that we're watching history being made this season every time KRON or Nick touches the ball now as a pair they have two of the top 10 single season combined performances for a tandem of Penn State backs they're in position to make that list three times if they have a good year one that compares to their first two seasons in blue and white and if they have anything Jim even remotely approaching what they have done as freshman and sophomores they are going to surpass Franco Harris and Lidell Mitchell as having had the most most productive shared career for a pair of Penn State running backs they're only about 1300 combined yards away from doing that and even their less productive 2023 of the two seasons they've tallied so far got them over 1600 yards on the ground so thinking about what and Andy codal Nikki likes to do in terms of prioritizing the run and using it to set up everything else he does creatively with his offense we could be in for seeing those guys rocket past Franco Harris and Lidell Mitchell who because of the way the NCAA has kept its record books don't get to count their Bowl stats only since 2002 have both stats counted in the official record even still Nick and KRON depending on what Penn State does in the postseason will only have somewhere between two to about five or six more games than those two guys so folks you need to go back and watch and read about liell Mitchell and Franco Harris and what they meant to State football in their day and you also need to appreciate that as great as they were we've got a pair of guys who are gonna stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them at the end of their careers as fans we got to appreciate that we're watching history this year with that that pair fingers crossed that they stay healthy last question Chris though on these lists that you made with both single season and career who are a couple of the other names that us oldtime Penn State fans will appreciate seeing again well the guys I am going to shout out for sure are Curtis enus and Aaron Harris who are are two of my favorite Penn State running backs uh in part because I was in school here while while they were here but their 1996 campaign uh shout out to Brandon Noble who was a senior that year and was Defensive MVP at the Fiesta Bowl uh they were number four overall in terms of the best single season productivity from a pair of Penn State running backs uh nearly 18800 yards and 22 scores so I I I we probably especially Aaron Harris don't talk about enough because his career was cut short by injury but before he got hurt Jim he had one of the best all-around combination of running back traits I've seen from a player at the position of Penn State well you got to shout out your contemporaries I want you to give some credit to one of my contemporaries Kurt Warner whose name was all over this list Kurt Warner appears and is the only running back to appear on the single season productivity list three times with two different running backs uh the 10th best season all time which again stands to maybe be displaced by Nick and KRON here in 2024 he shared the load with Booker Mo for the number 10 overall season and then the 1982 National Championship season where he was sharing the load with Jonathan Williams was number nine and then John Williams and Kurt Warner appear again in 1981 another great year for Penn State uh number seven overall so you talk about Penn State running backs we don't talk about enough Kurt Warner with a c for you younger folks out there is is probably one of those guys he was like he was gliding on grass when you watch that guy run but he could also deliver a surprising amount of power go back and watch his highlight re folks he's fantastic recommendation after listening to this get on YouTube look up some of these players you're going to really enjoy it then go to forthe bloggy dcom you'll see this article near the top of the the website fantastic article great memories for our old guys lot of education for you younger folks all right that is it for the Keystone Sports Network on for the blogy