STATE COLLEGE — The anxiety Marcus Allen felt on the eve of Penn State’s showdown with Ohio State last season wasn’t uncommon for a rookie. The sudden responsibility was.

The safety spent the night cramming for his first start, reading over his playbook in the team hotel and asking every veteran in the secondary questions until lights out.

Seven starts for one of the nation’s best defenses later, Allen said he feels like one of those veterans as a sophomore. He’s not the only one.

Rookies have ascended the depth chart immediately at Penn State, where coach James Franklin — and Bill O’Brien before him — have been challenged to make up for scholarship losses by managing and maximizing young talent. Allen is one of 47 rookies who’ve played the last two seasons for a team that’s been among college football’s youngest.

It’s not an ideal strategy. But it was necessary, Franklin said, for a team that played every Saturday with well below the NCAA-allowed 85 scholarships.

Counting injuries to a handful of seniors, Franklin had just 44 scholarship players available in the season finale against Michigan State.

“I think it helped for this year,” Franklin said. “But at times it was painful last year that we were relying on so many young guys in so many key spots.”

While their inexperience showed at times, the rookies proved they were quick learners.

Allen emerged as one of the unit’s better tacklers and arguably the secondary’s hardest hitter. He inspired so much confidence in Bob Shoop that Penn State’s defensive coordinator has turned most on-field communication duties over to Allen, whom he calls the quarterback of the defense.

Cornerbacks Grant Haley and Christian Campbell both made names for themselves as special teams dynamos. Haley was the team’s primary kickoff returner and both were effective gunners on punt coverage, where opponents averaged just over seven yards per return. Linebacker Jason Cabinda became a mainstay after entering to help a banged up defense against Northwestern.

Offensively, receivers Saeed Blacknall and Chris Godwin and tight end Mike Gesicki all factored into the offense and combined for 47 catches for 547 yards and three touchdowns. Redshirt freshman DaeSean Hamilton led the Big Ten with 82 catches.

It didn’t take long for Penn State’s real veterans to take notice and feel at ease with rookies playing big snap counts.

“I know that I don’t ever worry about those guys going in because I trust them,” junior defensive tackle Austin Johnson said.

That trust and shrinking experience gap go a long way in strengthening bonds between players, Franklin said. But it can be a challenge in a blue-collar locker room.

Penn State’s first spring depth chart was largely based on seniority.