Nick Singleton injury update: Penn State RB's status revealed vs. UCLA, per report

After missing a practice this week, Penn State running back Nick Singleton is expected to play against UCLA, according to a report from Matt Zenitz. James Franklin previously said he couldn’t provide an update on Singleton’s status after missing the media viewing portion of Wednesday’s workout.

Singleton is an important part of the Penn State rushing attack, along with Kaytron Allen. It’s unclear what kept him out of practice, and Franklin said he wasn’t able to update where things stood when meeting with reporters afterward.

“No, not at this stage,” Franklin said of whether he could update Singleton’s status against UCLA in Week 6.

However, Singleton is reportedly “fine” despite the absence. That bodes well for his status on Saturday as Penn State looks to improve to 5-0 after a victory last week against Illinois during the annual White Out game.

Nick Singleton heads into Saturday’s game against UCLA as Penn State’s leading rusher through four games. He has 408 rushing yards and a team-high three touchdowns to help the Nittany Lions to a perfect 4-0 record to start the year. He fit seamlessly into Andy Kotelnicki’s new scheme and is a big reason Penn State is averaging nearly 500 yards of offense.

Allen is also an important part of the rushing attack, sitting behind Singleton with 289 yards on the ground. But Franklin also pointed out the roles Quinton Martin and Corey Smith play in the running back room after Singleton’s absence on Wednesday.

“[Martin and Smith] have done some really good things, and they’ve learned to pick things up so far. I think both of those guys, specifically, Quinton, is preparing, ready to play,” Franklin continued. “But we’ll just see how this thing plays out.”

UCLA is also dealing with some uncertainty on offense entering Saturday’s matchup. Ethan Garbers is dealing with an injury, leaving his status up in the air against Penn State. Franklin noted how the Nittany Lions are preparing for the Bruins’ quarterback situation since they haven’t seen Justyn Martin much.

“We’re controlling the things that we can control,” Franklin said. “From what I have seen and heard they’re planning on playing [Garbers] if he’s available to play. All we can do is prepare off of what we’ve seen on tape. We haven’t seen the other kid. We went back and watched his high school tape, but there’s not a whole lot we can do but just prepare for what we’ve seen on film.”