Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton, kicker Jake Pinegar earn Big Ten honors after Maryland win
The Big Ten Conference recognized two Penn State football players on Monday following tremendous performances in the Lions’ 30-0 win over Maryland.
Running back Nicholas Singleton was the Big Ten freshmen of the week. Kicker Jake Pinegar, meanwhile, was the conference’s specialist of the week.
Singleton rushed 11 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came on fourth-and-one runs up the middle. The first went for 45 yards and the other for 27. Both came in the first half to help the Lions building a 27-0 halftime lead.
“Whenever you have people, whether it’s at wide receiver or running back or tight end or on the opposite side of the ball, it scares people,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “It impacts the defense, and it impacts the defensive coordinator because they know if you make a mistake. It could go for 50 and go for 60 at any point. That has really helped our offense this year. I believe in that. We have really done a good job of committing to short-yardage situations and getting better at it.
“That’s something we haven’t done here recently so that’s been a real positive for us this year. I love the package that we’re running. It puts the defense in a tough spot because we can do a lot of things out of that formation. Defensively, you just can’t be everywhere at once and when you have a veteran quarterback that can sit in there and get us in the right call that helps too.”
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Pinegar, meanwhile, blasted a 50-yard field goal and also connected from 46 and 21 yards while also booming numerous kickoffs for touchbacks.
“Jake Pinegar, I’m so happy for him playing his tail off, you’re talking about a guy who was the starter, lost his starting job, stuck it out, stayed here, and became the starter again,” Franklin said.
“He’s playing really well right now. A 50-yard field goal tonight at the end of the second quarter.”
Singleton has now won three freshmen of the week honors this season. This is Pinegar’s first such honor of his career.
Penn State returns to the field on Saturday at Rutgers. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. The broadcast crew is not yet known. The Lions are a 19.5-point favorite at sportsbooks across the country.
