One of the biggest reasons Penn State fans are getting excited about the upcoming 2023 season is the anticipation for what the dynamic running back tandem of [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] will do as sophomores. After stellar freshman seasons, the two top running backs returning to the team this season have now been included on the watch list for the nation’s top running back award in college football.
Singleton and Allen were named on the 2023 watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the best running back in college football. To appear on the list of watch list candidates, a player must be nominated by their respective university.
Singleton, who also is on the watch lists for the Maxwell Award and Paul Hornung Award, was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2022 after rushing for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns. Singleton set the Penn State freshman rushing touchdown record and was the third freshman in school history to rush for 1,000 yards.
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If not for Singleton’s performance in 2022, the freshman rushing touchdown record would have belonged to Allen, who accounted for 10 rushing touchdowns. Allen’s 867 rushing yards is the fourth-most by a Penn State freshman in program history. Allen became the first freshman running back with three rushing touchdowns in a single game (vs. Indiana) since Austin Scott did it in 2003.
Penn State has just one Doak Walker Award in program history. Larry Johnson easily walked away with the award during the 2002 season. The Big Ten has had a good handful of Doak Walker Award winners since it was first presented in 1990. The most recent Big Ten player to win the Doak Walker Award was Kenneth Walker III of Michigan State in 2021. Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor won back-to-back Doak Walker Awards in 2018 and 2019 to become the third two-time winner of the award (Ricky Williams of Texas in 1997 and 1998 and Darren McFadden of Arkansas in 2006 and 2007).
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