Early in his Monday presser, Penn State coach James Franklin was asked about the status of RB Nick Singleton.
He doesn’t usually provide updates on players whose status is in question, but in this case, he did give an update, and it was an encouraging one.
Franklin said that, barring any setbacks, he expects Singleton to play in Saturday’s showdown at USC.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Franklin said after Saturday’s 27-11 win against UCLA that he expected Singleton to play up until Saturday, when he ended up not going in what the coach described as a “last-minute decision.”
Singleton is one of Penn State’s best players.
Through four games, Singleton’s rushed for 408 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. He’s been effective in the passing game, catching six balls for 82 yards and two scores, and, as we saw Saturday night.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.This led to more or a workload for Kaytorn Allen (21 carries, 78 yards, TD) and true freshman Quinton Martin, who became the team’s RB2 for the day.
Not having Singleton hurt but Franklin was pleased with the offense adjusted in the team’s 27-11 win.
“Obviously, not having a guy like Nick Singleton is significant,” Franklin said, “but it was a tremendous opportunity for Kaytron to get a few more touches. It was also a great opportunity to get Quinton in there. Really, really good opportunity for those guys, and I think we handled it well.”
USC’s run defense is one of the team’s weak points. Only Purdue— which is 1-4– has a worse run defense. So, yes, it could be a day for the Penn State RBs to feast.
