Can Penn State Football “Run it Back in 2025” after 27-24 Orange Bowl Loss?
Penn State Football’s record-breaking 13-win 2024 season came to a heartbreaking end Thursday night with Penn State falling to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl 27 to 24 in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
With the Nittany Lions now out of national championship contention, Penn State and head coach James Franklin can fully shift into offseason mode to prepare for the 2025 season.
With one of the biggest pieces already publicly announcing his intention to return in 2025, starting quarterback Drew Allar, Penn State must now figure out which other pieces of the 2024 roster will be back next season.
Can the Nittany Lions run it back in 2025 and keep Penn State’s playmakers together for another Big Ten and college football playoff run next season?
Why the 2022 class is such a big deal for Penn State Football
It’s no secret that Penn State’s star-studded 2022 recruiting class is a major reason for Penn State’s success in 2024.
Out of the 26 enrollees in Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class, 13 players have logged starts for the Nittany Lions over the past three seasons.
Nine of those players are currently starters on the 2024 Nittany Lions team, including starting quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and defensive ends Dani Dennis-Sutton and Abdul Carter, and starting left tackle Drew Shelton.
The pivotal part of the 2025 offseason for the 2022 recruiting class for Penn State is the fact that each member of the 2022 recruiting class is now eligible for the NFL Draft, having been out of high school for three years now.
This makes retaining players in the 2022 class harder for Penn State, as the Nittany Lions are not just fighting to keep players out of the transfer portal, but now also dealing with players weighing NFL draft decisions.
Here’s how that could affect Penn State’s retention this offseason.
Drew Allar
Penn State’s former five-star signal caller announced his intention to return for Penn State for his senior season. Allar has thrown for over 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns this season.
Allar already has the Penn State record for career passing completion percentage. With another season in blue and white, Allar could contend for the number one overall pick in the 2026 draft if he builds on a strong 2024 campaign. Allar already had scouts asking him to reconsider entering the 2025 NFL draft after strong film from Penn State’s postseason run.
After struggling in Penn State’s Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame, including a horrendous interception at the end of the game, Allar will likely stick to his intention to return to Penn State next season.
Kevin Winston Jr.
KJ Winston Jr. has not played much for the Nittany Lions this season, after partially tearing his ACL before Penn State’s week two game against Bowling Green. The junior safety opted to enter the NFL draft after rehabbing this season after ACL surgery and will forgo his senior season at Penn State.
Abdul Carter
Abdul Carter is widely expected to enter the NFL draft after the Nittany Lions season is over and should hear his name called very early on day one of the NFL draft. Carter has been otherworldly for the Nittany Lions this season, leading the nation in tackles for a loss (22) and racking up a Big Ten best 11 sacks.
Carter injured his shoulder in Penn State’s Fiesta Bowl against Boise State. His agent Drew Rosenhaus called Carter’s injury “a legitimate shoulder injury” ahead of Carter playing in the Orange Bowl for Penn State against Notre Dame. It would be a major surprise if Carter did not forgo his final season at Penn State and head to the NFL this offseason.
Nick Singleton
Ahead of Penn State’s appearance in the Orange Bowl, Nick Singleton told the media that he was weighing an NFL draft decision but had not yet decided on his future.
James Franklin noted in his weekly press conference leading up to the Orange Bowl that Penn State would “love to have him back, but if [Singleton] decides to come out, we’ll fight like heck to get him drafted as high as possible.”
Singleton has accumulated over 2,800 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns in his three year career at Penn State and sits just over 1,000 yards away from Penn State’s all-time record. If Singleton returns, he will be a vital piece of the 2025 offense and potentially could make history in Happy Valley.
Kaytron Allen
Penn State’s second back in the two-headed monster backfield, Kaytron Allen, also has a decision to make this offseason. Like Singleton, Allen has accumulated over 2,700 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns in his three-year Penn State career.
Allen has a legitimate argument for the NFL draft after showing out in Penn State’s college football playoff run as a powerful, bruising back that can play at the highest level. Like Singleton, if Allen returns to the Nittany Lions in 2024, Allen will have a chance to make history at Penn State on the all-time rushing leaderboard and also would be a key feature in Penn State’s offense in 2025.
Dani Dennis-Sutton
Dani Dennis-Sutton’s excellent season in Happy Valley has been a bit overshadowed by him playing opposite of the best defensive player in the country, Abdul Carter. At one point in the season before Dennis-Sutton was injured, Dennis-Sutton lead the country in quarterback hits. Even while playing through an injury, Dennis-Sutton was able to rack up 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss this season and has been a vital piece of Penn State’s defense.
Penn State would love to retain Dennis-Sutton with Carter heading off to the NFL, as Dennis-Sutton would take on the role of Penn State’s top defensive lineman and a leader on the 2025 Penn State defense.
Zane Durant
Defensive tackle Zane Durant has had one of the best seasons of an interior defensive lineman that Penn State has seen in the James Franklin era. Durant recorded three sacks and ten tackles for a loss this season.
Durant could opt to head to the NFL after the season, but if he opts to return for his senior season, his return could be huge for the Nittany Lions next season. Durant has anchored the center of the Nittany Lions defensive line, which is losing a number of players heading into next season.
Depending on how many players Penn State can return in 2025 will determine just how far the Nittany Lions can go in an attempt to match the success of one of the most successful teams in Penn State history.
Hopefully, for the Nittany Lions, enough of these playmakers will have a hunger to run it back after a heartbreaking end to the 2024 season.
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