Nick Singleton injury update: Is the Penn State star dealing with a short- or long-term issue?
Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton took his final carry in the No. 6 Nittany Lions’ 35-6 win over Washington last Saturday with just under nine minutes to play. He was then not seen on the sidelines during the fourth quarter, which upped co-starter Kaytron Allen’s reps in the second half and also forced freshman Corey Smith into action for the first time this season. After the game, head coach James Franklin had no immediate update on Singleton’s status moving forward.
“No, as you guys know, I don’t kind of get into those types of things,” Franklin said. “You know, you’ll find out when you come out to practice. I don’t have a whole lot more. Typically, I get in there after this, I shower, everybody’s gone. I get done with the shower. Andy Mutnan is waiting for me. And, he goes through how we got out of the game, and what the injuries were. Typically, we don’t have a whole lot of information until the next morning. But as you can imagine, I don’t usually get into sharing that information with you guys.”
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Franklin’s words on Saturday, especially the “you’ll find out when you come out to practice” part, indicated, as his past words have, that he would likely not have much an update on Monday. However, he was still asked about Singleton’s outlook for next weekend’s Penn State meeting with Purdue at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. That was the case even if he was never going to have much to say until after reporters see whether or not Singleton is at practice on Wednesday. After that, Franklin holds his final news conference of game week. He has said before that if he is going to have injury updates, it would be then.
“Short-term, and you guys will obviously have a better idea come practice [Wednesday],” Franklin said. “But, short-term.”
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What will the Penn State plan be if Singleton is limited or out?
That it’s not a long-term injury is the biggest development. However, there’s also the reality that Penn State is going to be an enormous favorite over the Boilermakers. It should not need to play the starters for four quarters. Thus, the Lions will likely travel all four of their scholarship running backs to West Lafayette.
Smith figures to be part of the plan game day plan. He can compete in every remaining contest this season and still preserve a year of eligibility. Fellow freshman Quinton Martin Jr., on the other hand, can only play in one more contest before possibly going over the four-game redshirting threshold. Against Washington, Smith carried five times for 95 yards. His day was headlined by a 78-yard burst on the final Penn State drive of the day.
“If you just look across college football and even the NFL, you better have depth at that position, especially if you’re committed to running the ball as we are,” Franklin said. “Bumps and bruises are going to come from that. I think we have talent at that position. And I think they’re holding up well. Nick and Kaytron are really good, complimentary people to each other. And we’re going to need all of them.”
