Penn State football stars making huge leaps up NFL Draft boards amid Senior Bowl practice dominance
Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, and Zakee Wheatley all posting impressive showings at the Senior Bowl
The Penn State Nittany Lions may not have had the football season they wanted in 2025, but they’re still sending a wild amount of talent to the NFL Draft once again. Five top Penn State prospects have been dominating the Senior Bowl practices (the premier college football all-star game) this week, and should continue to rise throughout the draft process.
Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton clearly the class of the RB crop
As Penn State fans are already well aware, both Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton are two of the top running backs in the country. Both backs have totaled well over 4,400 yards from scrimmage and 40+ touchdowns for Penn State in their last four seasons together. This past year wasn’t the best for Singleton production-wise, but both of them have more than proven they’re special talents.
They didn’t waste any time at Senior Bowl practices this week, asserting themselves as the best two backs participating, putting up several good runs on both Monday and Tuesday.
I met with both running backs on Monday and Tuesday of the Senior Bowl action in Mobile. Singleton has been excited to showcase his elite burst and speed. He told me that he’s expecting to run somewhere in the low 4.3s in the forty-yard dash at the NFL Combine here in a few weeks. Considering his GPS confirmed top speeds, both here at the Senior Bowl and all over his college career, consistently show that he’s one of the fastest running backs in the nation, that might just happen. And if he keeps putting together strong showing here in Mobile to go along with that speed, Singleton should be an early NFL Draft pick.
Allen was excited to talk through his vision, decisiveness, and what he’s working through this draft process. He said that he’s, “never really gotten the respect he deserves,” but he’s earning it this week at the Senior Bowl. Allen is just putting his head (and his pads) down, making his presence felt, just like he did throughout his impressive career with the Nittany Lions. There’s a reason that Kaytron is the all-time leading rusher for Penn State, ahead of Saquon Barkley, Evan Royster, Larry Johnson, and more.
Penn State defensive stars showing out, led by Dani Dennis-Sutton
It hasn’t just been the offensive stars for Penn State standing out at the Senior Bowl. Dani Dennis-Sutton has clearly been a coach’s favorite this week. He’s been winning along the edge in one-on-ones, including against some of the best talents in town (Kage Casey, who is having a great week, got smoked by DDS in the post below).
When I caught up with Dennis-Sutton following practice Wednesday (video in my post below), he talked with me about how much coaches were allowing him to shine with his versatility. Dennis-Sutton has recorded sacks from virtually every pre-snap alignment in his time at Penn State. He has been finding ways to create havoc from all around the formation this week as well.
Both Zane Durant (defensive line) and Zakee Wheatley (defensive back) have also been showing out for Penn State this week too. It’s been an impressive week of practice from every single Nittany Lions star present. Penn State fans should expect to see this entire crew continue to rise, most of them likely drafted between picks 40 and 120 when the 2026 NFL Draft rolls around.
We’ll be back with more Penn State Nittany Lions coverage here at A to Z Sports every day of the year! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
