One of Penn State football’s most effective offensive players isn’t even being used as its No. 1 running back, and coach James Franklin was asked about it during Monday’s weekly press conference.
Kaytron Allen was Penn State’s leading rusher in each of its first three games of the season.
Yet, he only got 12 carries against Oregon, barely more than Nicholas Singleton, who had 11.
Singleton gained 21 yards on those 11 carries, compared to 14 on 12 for Allen, so many fans felt Allen should have been the bell cow for the next week’s game against UCLA.
Instead, Allen got eight carries to Singleton’s 11, and wasn’t on the field for the 4th and 2 play that ended Penn State’s chances.
WHAT FRANKLIN SAID
Yeah, so I don’t think there is any doubt that Kaytron is having a good year and been very productive. That’s kind of what we look at each week, is how are we getting him touches. And then also it’s not necessarily play count, but it’s also opportunities that he gets to touch the ball. So that’s something we discuss as an offensive staff each week. He’s obviously been very productive. When things don’t go well, then that’s one of the first things you look at and you say, he needs more touches and should have had more touches in that game. So, yeah, I think that’s a fair question. We had a similar discussion ourself as a staff.
HOW IS THIS DECIDED
When answering a follow-up question later on, Franklin said the running back rotation is decided between Franklin, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and running backs coach Stan Drayton.
“Yeah, so we discuss rotation as a staff every single week,” he said. “That’s part of the coordinator’s plan. That’s part of the position coach’s plan. So, for us, we’re tracking touches more than we’re tracking plays. Those guys are rotating by series, but we’re tracking touches.
“Obviously, that was a discussion after the game. It was also a discussion before the game that we need to get Kaytron more touches and more carries.”
How Penn State discussed getting Allen more involved before the game and then didn’t follow through on it is a mystery.
Penn State takes on Northwestern Saturday on Homecoming at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 on FS1.
