Penn State football coach James Franklin said Wednesday night that he’s confident junior running back Nick Singleton will play Saturday at Purdue.
Singleton, a Gov. Mifflin grad, did not play the final 1.5 quarters of the Nittany Lions’ 35-6 win over Washington last week at Beaver Stadium.
A source close to the team told the Reading Eagle that he returned to practice on Sunday. Franklin on Monday described Singleton’s injury as “short term.”
“As you guys know, medical decisions are out of my league,” Franklin said Wednesday after practice. “But we’re confident he’ll be ready to go.”
Singleton carried seven times for 45 yards and caught three passes for 14 yards against Washington before he went to the locker room. He also returned the second-half kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, which was nullified by a holding penalty.
Singleton has rushed 88 times for 543 yards (6.2 average) and three touchdowns, second on the team, and has caught 22 passes for 218 yards (9.9 average) and four TDs, third on the team.
“It’s been important for us to get Nick involved in the passing game,” Franklin said, “in maybe the non-traditional running back routes and other ways that make it more difficult to defend.
“I think the more things he’s able to do and the more comfortable he’s doing them is going to help him long term in his career. His ball skills have gotten dramatically better from his freshman year. We have to continue to do that.”
With Singleton’s 219 kickoff return yards, he’s averaging 122.5 all-purpose yards per game, tied for fourth in the Big Ten and tied for 23rd nationally with Kyle Monangai of Rutgers.
DeLuca at full strength: Penn State linebacker Dominic DeLuca has seen increased playing time in recent weeks less than two months after he suffered a broken hand or wrist.
DeLuca, the Wyoming Area grad, has 17 tackles, including two in the backfield, and one quarterback hurry.
“He had a cast on his hand early on,” Franklin said. “I think he only had his thumb exposed. As that hand has healed and he got more comfortable, then he’s had more confidence and we have more confidence in him doing the things he did before the injury.”
A redshirt junior and team captain, DeLuca has been a special-teams stalwart at Penn State.
“He’s a very, very valuable guy for us,” Franklin said. “He’s extremely smart. He can probably play all three of the linebacker positions. He could easily be a four-unit starter for us on special teams.
“We started to limit his role on special teams because of the little depth we have at linebacker.”
Rojas struggles: Penn State sophomore linebacker Tony Rojas has struggled in recent weeks, including registering no tackles last week against Washington.
Rated a four-star prospect, Rojas played in every game last season as a freshman and made several splash plays. He’s started every game this season and has 34 tackles, including four in the backfield, and one interception.
“He played really well as a freshman,” Franklin said, “but there’s a difference between coming in as the backup and being the starter and having to do it play in and play out with the discipline and toughness that it takes mentally and physically to do that.
“It’s been a transition for him. The exciting thing for him and for us is that there’s a lot left in his tank.”
