The Penn State Nittany Lions didn’t quite end their season the way they had hoped, falling just a game short of the National Championship. Their 27-24 loss at the hands of Notre Dame was a crushing blow to the players, coaches, and fans, but they got some good news shortly after. Not only is starting QB Drew Allar returning for the 2025 CFB season, but star running back duo Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton are also coming back to try and finish what they started at State College.
Now, I know many Penn State fans are going to hate on Allar after he threw that awful, game-clinching interception against the Irish. Indeed, it was a terrible throw that he simply can’t make in a tie game in his own territory. However, they want to disregard everything else Allar was able to do last season, and how much he improved in 2024 over his first season in 2023. He made massive strides in his game last offseason, and now with yet another year under his belt and a full offseason coming up, it is reasonable to believe he gets even better for 2025.
In 2023, which was his first season as a starter, Allar threw for 2,631 yards with a 59.9% completion percentage. He threw for 25 touchdowns and just two interceptions as well, which was very impressive. In 2024, he threw for 24 touchdowns with eight interceptions, but 3,327 yards on a 66.5% completion percentage. Despite more picks, it is clear that he was able to push the ball down the field more than he was able to in 2023.
The duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen was the best running back tandem in college football for 2024. Both rushers went for over 1,000 yards and combined for 20 touchdowns, and they showed how good they were in the game against Notre Dame. Singleton alone had three touchdown runs, pretty much scoring all of Penn State’s points. Having them come back for another season immediately makes Penn State a serious title threat again.
Unfortunately, tight end Tyler Warren will be graduating and moving to the NFL. He was by far and away their best receiver, and it wasn’t even close. Warren had more receptions (104) than the entire wide receiver room (102), and that was never more apparent than against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, where not a single receiver caught a pass. They have to find a real, serious threat in the passing attack if they really want to be taken seriously, and preferably a wide receiver.
They have commitments from two transfer receivers in Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross, who should help solve the issues there, but they need to take the next step in their development. Hudson made some fantastic grabs at USC, and Ross was a 1,000 yard receiver at Troy, but neither have proven they can be a true No. 1 against the talent PSU will face.
Overall, there is no doubt that the Nittany Lions should be considered one of the favorites to win the title, but until they have a true No. 1 receiving threat to help out Allar in the passing attack, I cannot really back them to win it all.