Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider did not shed any more light Thursday on why Nick Singleton missed practice a day earlier.
“I think Coach (James) Franklin already answered that question,” Seider said during a previously scheduled Zoom interview with beat reporters. “I’m not going to follow up on that same question.”
The reporter who asked the question replied, “He didn’t really answer it, though.”
“Well, you know we don’t talk about that stuff that the coach already put something out,” Seider said. “So leave it at that.”
After practice Wednesday evening, Franklin was asked whether there was “anything that is going on there that might impact his (Singleton’s) availability (for Saturday’s home game against UCLA)?”
“No, not at this stage,” Franklin replied.
When the same reporter asked whether there was anything further Franklin could say, he replied, “No,” before chiding the reporter for asking the question.
Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, is arguably Penn State’s best offensive player. He leads the Nittany Lions in rushing with 408 yards and three touchdowns and has six catches for 74 yards and two scores.
He ranks sixth in the nation with 7.70 yards per carry and 14th in all-purpose yards with 139.5 per game.
If Singleton can’t play for seventh-ranked Penn State (1-0 Big Ten, 4-0) against UCLA (0-2, 1-3) Saturday at noon (TV-FOX), freshman Quinton Martin Jr. would see increased playing time behind Kaytron Allen.
Martin was a four-star prospect who led Belle Vernon to the 2023 PIAA Class 3A championship by rushing for 1,181 yards, catching 53 passes for 764 yards and scoring 27 touchdowns.
He made his collegiate debut two weeks ago against Kent State, carrying seven times for 24 yards after redshirt freshman running back Cam Wallace suffered what’s likely a season-ending injury.
“He’s ready,” Seider said. “He has no excuse not to be ready. If he ain’t ready, then I’m not doing my job. He needs to be ready anyway. It’s not whether Nick is playing or not. That has nothing to do with it. Same with Corey (fellow freshman Corey Smith).
“Having Quinton here all spring, all summer, all fall, he’s ready. He knows the system inside and out. Now just go play. When he played a few weeks ago, he operated like he had confidence.”
In a 21-7 win over Illinois last week, Singleton rushed 16 times for 94 yards and one touchdown, caught two passes for 25 yards and returned a kickoff for 20 yards.
On a third-and-7 in the third quarter, he pancaked a defensive end, caught a pass from Drew Allar and then ran through defensive back Miles Scott for a 9-yard gain and a first down.
“That’s what you want to see as a coach and what you want to see from your best players,” Seider said. “I always tell them that people should be proud of watching film of us blocking as well as running.
“When you combine three things he did on that play, the chip on the block, catching a ball that was a high pass and finishing the run on a critical down to keep the drive alive. … he was enjoying the moment.”
Singleton and running mate/roommate Kaytron Allen have helped Penn State average 251.0 rushing yards per game, which is first in the Big Ten and ninth in the country.
Allen ran 18 times for 102 yards and one touchdown, a 5-yard burst through the middle with 1:55 to go that he celebrated in animated fashion. It was his first TD since the season opener at West Virginia and his first rushing score of the season.
“There’s not a kid in this world who I’ve been around who loves football more than Kaytron,” Seider said. “The thing that he loves the most is getting into the end zone. It is a funeral home if he doesn’t get in that end zone.
“The kid would give his right arm to make sure he scores every game. It doesn’t make him selfish; that’s his mentality. I love the kid. I love his approach to the game. I love his passion for the game.”
