A skill player emerged in Penn State’s Blue-White game on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Maybe not the one you expected. It wasn’t a receiver.
It was a freshman.
The question is, what will running back Quinton Martin’s role be in the fall?
The Nittany Lions’ top two backs, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, did not play in the scrimmage. Allen was not 100% healthy, and coach James Franklin didn’t need to expose Singleton to any unnecessary contact.
Without those two, the running game was led by redshirt sophomore Cam Wallace and Martin, the 6-foot-1, 194-pound true freshman from Belle Vernon.
Wallace led all rushers with 36 yards on seven carries and added a 6-yard reception.
Martin scored on a 9-yard run in the second quarter and a 12-yard run in the fourth.
Franklin shared his thoughts on both young backs afterward, and it’s clear Martin has plenty of room to grow between now and the start of August camp.
Remember that Allen and Singleton were January enrollees and it was clear early in the spring of 2022 that both were ready to play as freshmen despite the presence of older backs Keyvone Lee and Devyn Ford.
This situation is different. Allen and Singleton are NFL-caliber runners. If they are both healthy, they should combine for 350 or so carries in 2024.
“You guys don’t get to see this all the time, but (Martin) has some bumps and bruises, so he missed a decent amount of time this spring, so I don’t have a true evaluation,” Franklin said.
“What I will tell you is he’s an awesome kid. He’s learned the offense really well. I do think he’s got really good vision.
“But I think between now and West Virginia (on Aug. 31), he’s got a lot of work to do and I think he’ll do it.”
The competition at running back involves the No. 3 spot. Martin, Wallace and another second-year back, London Montgomery, are battling for the job.
“I think he’ll have a chance to be competing to be in that rotation in training camp,” Franklin said of Martin.
“Cam (Wallace) I thought had a really good spring as well and was out there more to be evaluated.
“That’s one of these things that all of our guys got to understand. The No. 1 ability in football is availability. They got to be out there to be developed every single day and they got to be out there to be evaluated every single day.
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“So, I would’ve liked to see more out of (Martin), but I do think there was a foundation that’s been laid with him that will allow him to make significant progress this summer and be able to go into training camp and legitimately compete.”