What did Penn State coach James Franklin say about Nick Singleton's status for UCLA after practice Wednesday?

Penn State returned to the practice field on Wednesday night to continue preparations for its meeting with UCLA. It did so without star junior Nicholas Singleton in uniform. Kaytron Allen led the running backs through position drills. With second-year Nittany Lion Cam Wallace dealing with a long-term injury, Singleton’s absence left freshmen Quinton Martin Jr., and Corey Smith as the only scholarship running backs available on this night behind Allen. After practice wrapped up, head coach James Franklin was asked if he had an update on Singleton’s status and whether it might impact his availability for Saturday’s meeting with the Bruins.

“No, not at this stage,” Franklin said.

Franklin will not speak again with reporters until after Saturday’s game. So, the next update on Singleton will come when the program releases its Big Ten mandated availability report around two hours before kickoff, which is set for Noon ET on FOX.

Due to Wallace’s injury, Penn State will have something to figure out regardless of whether or not Singleton is available. Neither of the freshmen was needed last week against Illinois with Wallace out. That may be the case again this week, but it will not be at some point in the future, and how the Lions handle it will an impact on one or both of their redshirt statuses.

“[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 said.

“But we’ll just see how this thing plays out. I mean, the challenge is, you know, Cam was our number three, right? So what you don’t want to do is, you got two guys that could possibly redshirt. If you’re going to use one of those guys as your number three, you want to make sure that they get enough reps that it makes it worthwhile.

More: What did UCLA coach DeShaun Foster say about QB Ethan Garbers, PSU on Wednesday?

“And as you guys know, we want to make sure that both Kaytron and Nick get enough touches, and there’s just not enough touches to go around if you’re going to make sure that those two guys get enough, let alone all the other guys; that’s one of the questions that you guys, thankfully, haven’t really given me a whole lot this year. Why are these guys not touching the ball? They are. We start getting more touches for other guys, and that’s going to impact our running backs too. So it’s a balance of all this, all the time.”

Singleton, Penn State ground game, off to a fast start

Through a perfect 4-0 start to the 2024 season, the Lions’ ground game has looked good. Singleton and Allen each have 53 carries a piece. The former has taken his for 408 yards and three touchdowns. The latter has netted 289 and one. Penn State leads the Big Ten with an average of 251 rushing yards per game. And, Singleton’s mark of 7.7 yards per carry ranks fourth in the conference.

“I’m having fun,” Singleton told reporters this week. “We’re obviously winning, which is the most important part. I feel like if everybody’s just doing their job, controlling what they can control and it will take care of itself, which it has. So as long as we are winning, I’m having fun.”

More: What did we learn from the Lions’ offense during Wednesday practice before UCLA?

Singleton and Allen are a rare duo in this day and age of college football. Most players with their talents would have tested the transfer portal waters to find a solo starring role elsewhere. Neither has ever had that desire, though. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was asked why on Wednesday, and his answer made perfect sense.

“I think it was part of the recruiting pitch that Coach [Ja’Juan] Seider gave them when they were recruits with me as well,” Allar said. “You look at the trend across just running backs in general. [The NFL] wants running backs with less wear and tear on them. And obviously, we have two backs that are elite at what they do. They also don’t have much wear and tear on them.

“Obviously, they want to put up numbers, and they have put up numbers with what they’ve been given, but I think it’s best for them and their future and us as a team right now to have two backs that we can rely on at all times. So I think it’s kind of a win-win in both situations for, like, our football team as a whole, and them for their personal careers.”

Stay tuned for Blue-White Illustrated for the latest on Singleton’s status before kickoff.