Penn State's Kaytron Allen Wants to Kick Down More Doors in Year 4

Whether in football or Monopoly, the Nittany Lions running back has a fierce competitive streak.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen (13) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown during the third quarter against the UCLA Bruins at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen doesn’t always say much, but he possesses a competitive fire that’s hard to miss. His actions speak louder, and it's hard to ignore the roar that comes out of him when he reaches the end zone and kicks down the door. 

Allen doesn’t know why he does that. He said the touchdown celebration just kind of happened. But he does know that he wants to knock down more doors in 2025.  

“I ain’t really shown the world my real potential yet,” the senior running back said.

Kick that door down 😤

Some of Kaytron Allen's @PennStateFball teammates joined him for his celly last night.#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/JQCWmG4Z3l

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 29, 2024

Allen is back at Penn State for his fourth season, a decision that surprised many (even his head coach) and that he shared only minutes after fellow running back Nicholas Singleton announced his return last winter. During Penn State football training camp, there are more questions regarding the third-string back than the two who have shared the title of RB1 for the past three seasons. 

But why did Allen decide to return? Even Stan Drayton, Penn State’s new running backs coach, initially was stunned. 

“I was surprised on the outside looking in, but once you’re in this program, there’s not a whole lot of turnover that way,” Drayton said. “… It’s a family atmosphere. [Allen and Singleton] gave themselves another opportunity to get better, which, I mean, how can you knock that, right?”

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Monopolizing yards and opportunities

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen (13) carries the ball during the Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Norfolk, Virginia, native went to Florida’s IMG Academy, a developmental school known for producing elite college and NFL players. Allen credited IMG for making those goals seem possible. Anytime one of his teammates achieved it, he merely wanted it more. 

Jordan Hall, a Michigan State linebacker and former IMG teammate of Allen, said at Big Ten Media Days that Allen’s competitiveness extended beyond the field to the Monopoly board, which they often played in the dorm.  

“He was a funny dude in Monopoly, always screaming about something,” Hall said. “But at the end of the day, good dude, energetic, loved being around him, good football player.”

Said Allen of his Monopoly strategy, “You’ve got to go for the expensive [properties]. Everybody had their days when they won, [and] I won a couple times.”

While a single railroad isn’t the most expensive Monopoly property, having all four gets you a pretty penny when it's time to collect rent. At Penn State, Allen entering his fourth year is similar to purchasing that last railroad on the board to get a monopoly. The running back has more experience now, and he’s a greater force to be reckoned with. 

“He's faster, he's stronger, he's more explosive than he's ever been,” Penn State coach James Franklin said of Allen. “He's got a chance to put the country on notice.”

In response to his coach’s comments, Allen said, “That’s a true statement. I can’t wait.” 

Records still left to be broken

Penn State running backs Nick Singleton (10) and Kaytron Allen sign autographs before the start of the annual Blue-White Game. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Through three seasons, Allen has rushed for 2,877 yards, including a career-best 1,108 in 2024. Allen and Singleton are close to breaking Evan Royster’s career-rushing record at Penn State of 3,932 yards. Allen is 1,056 yards away and having a healthy offseason, a rarity for Allen considering the injuries he has dealt with in previous offseasons, has helped his chances. 

“I definitely think about [the chance to break the record],” Allen said. “I think about it a lot.”

Drayton immediately noticed Allen’s drive when he joined the Penn State football staff. The former Temple head coach has 32 years of experience and has coached backs such as Bijan Robinson and Ezekiel Elliott. That quickly earned him the position room’s trust.  

“All you’ve got to do is to say, ‘Go,’ and [Allen’s] actions tell you everything you need to know about him as a competitor,” Drayton said.  

While the competitiveness comes naturally to Allen, Drayton said the next step Allen and Singleton needed to take was understanding how defenses are trying to defend them.

“Both of them had pretty similar things they needed to work on,” Drayton said. “They have great instincts, they have great vision, they are very physical, tough football players. But the truth of the matter is, they weren’t great students of the game. So we had to get back and understand big-picture offense, systematically what we’re trying to do, but most importantly how the defenses are trying to defend that.”

A preseason nominee for the Doak Walker and Maxwell awards, Allen wants to continue developing in Penn State’s offense. And entering his second season under coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, he feels more confident in it.  

“I feel like we’ve got so many things that we left behind [after last season] that I felt like I needed to work on myself and this team,” Allen said. “I felt like it was needed for me to come back.”

When Penn State opens its season Aug. 30 against Nevada, Allen will get his next crack at reaching the end zone. While he isn’t sure if he’ll continue kicking down the door, whatever he decides in the moment will represent his football ambition.