What Penn State RB Kaytron Allen said after breaking school’s career rushing record
Penn State football has a new all-time leading rusher after senior running back Kaytron Allen set the record Saturday night against Nebraska.
Allen finished with 160 yards against the Cornhuskers to give him a record-breaking 3,954 for his career. He takes over the top spot from Evan Royster, who finished with 3,932 yards in a career that spanned from 2007-2010.
“It means a lot,” Allen said after the game. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I’m glad I got the opportunity to do this.”
The Nittany Lion running back took a run up the middle for three yards in the final quarter to break the record on his 22nd carry as cheers rained down from the crowd in recognition of the mark. When a graphic of the record appeared on the videoboard, they cheered even louder.
Royster had the record while carrying the ball 686 times with Penn State. Allen broke the record on the 744th carry of his career. But interim head coach Terry Smith pointed out just how special that milestone is.
“Tonight we witnessed greatness,” Smith said. “Kaytron Allen. Penn State’s been playing football for an awful long time. To be the No. 1 rusher in the history of this place, it’s an impressive thing he accomplished tonight.
“And what makes it even more impressive is that he is a guy that had to share carries for four years. To break the record tonight, hats off to him.”
The Nittany Lion senior entered the year chasing the record alongside fellow senior running back Nick Singleton, but Allen took over the role of lead back after former head coach James Franklin was fired in October. Allen has run away from his position mate since then.
He entered the game needing 139 rushing yards to eclipse the mark, making it likely that he would have set the new record in one of the team’s final two games of the regular season.
Allen has run for at least 800 yards in every season at Penn State despite sharing the workload with Singleton for the majority of his career. His performance against the Huskers pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in a season after he also did so in 2024.
Assuming he plays against Rutgers in the team’s season finale, Allen is now likely to become Penn State’s first running back to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark for his career.
Allen said, if it were up to him, he would’ve preferred a season with more wins instead of a season with more rushing yards. But he’ll still take Saturday night.
“Us getting a win matters most to me,” Allen said. “I just wanted to win for real — and I got the opportunity to break the record. So everything just went hand in hand. And it’s on Senior Night.”
Penn State’s all-time leading rushers
Here is an updated list of the Nittany Lions’ career rushing leaders after Saturday night’s game vs. Nebraska:
1. Kaytron Allen, 2022-present (3,954 yards)
2. Evan Royster, 2007-2010 (3,932 yards)
3. Saquon Barkley, 2015-2017 (3,843 yards)
4. Curt Warner, 1979-1982 (3,398 yards)
5. Nick Singleton, 2022-present (3,375 yards)
6. Tony Hunt, 2003-2006 (3,320 yards)
7. Blair Thomas, 1986-1989 (3,301 yards)
8. Curtis Enis, 1995-1997 (3,256 yards)
9. DJ Dozier, 1983-1986 (3,227 yards)
10. Larry Johnson, 2000-2002 (2,953 yards)
CDT staff writer Josh Moyer contributed to this report
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM.
