Nicholas Singleton notches Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Ahead of Penn State’s trip to Rutgers on Nov. 19, head coach James Franklin was asked the importance of having true freshman running back Nicholas Singleton eclipsing 1,000 yards for the season. Leading a Nittany Lion offense transformed by its improvement in the running game, the passing of thresholds for Singleton wasn’t a priority, given the context of wanting to still win games.
“It’s not really something that we’re focused on. We’re focused on trying to find a way to beat Rutgers,” Franklin said. “If during that process, the guys have the ability, whether it’s Nicholas or any of the other guys have, the ability to reach or meet some individual goals, then that’s great. But we’re really just focused on finding a way to beat Rutgers on the road in the Big Ten, and whatever comes with that as a byproduct, is good.”
Singleton finished the regular season with 941 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground on his 149 carries for the season. It was more than enough to earn him one of the Big Ten’s highest honors, anyway.
Announced Wednesday afternoon, Singleton was named the Big Ten’s Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year for his performance this year.
Nicholas Singleton’s debut season
Singleton’s impact on the Nittany Lions, propelling a lagging Penn State offense from 2021 into one leaping into the nation’s top 20 scoring offenses, proved indisputable in his first season in the program. Though limited to 31 yards on 10 carries in his debut at Purdue on Sept. 1, Singleton returned to notch back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors with a 10 carry, 179-yard, 2 touchdown performance against Ohio, followed by 10 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns against Auburn the next week. In the process, he became the first Nittany Lion to tally three carries of 40-yards-or-more in a game since Larry Johnson in 2002.
He also did so alongside the emergence of his backfield buddy, fellow true freshman Kaytron Allen, who also produced an excellent season in his debut at Penn State. Racking up 830 yards and nine touchdowns of his own on 156 carries, Allen also was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice.
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Combined, both Allen and Singleton joined to form the first true freshman tandem in Big Ten history who eclipsed 800 rushing yards in a single season.
“I think Nick is getting better every single week. I think both of those guys are running really physical and Nick had some really good runs where maybe there was three or four yards and he turned them into six or seven-yard runs,” said Franklin earlier this month. “He’s getting more comfortable and getting more confident every single week, every single practice, every single game. So is Kaytron.
“They’re both getting better in areas that they need to improve, and as you can imagine, there’s still a ton of growth for both of them based on the fact that they’re true freshmen and haven’t played a whole lot of football.”
In addition to his performance as a running back, Singleton also added a 100-yard kickoff return to his resume this season.
