Nick Singleton leaves his mark at Penn State in more ways than one [opinion]

When Nick Singleton announced his commitment four years ago, many had him penciled for greatness at Penn State.

Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star, was rated a five-star prospect and was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a senior.

It seemed impossible for him to meet the expectations heaped upon him, but he has during his time in Happy Valley.

In what probably will be his final game for the Nittany Lions, Singleton accounted for 183 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a rollicking 40-36 victory over Rutgers on Saturday night at SHI Stadium.

In the process, he passed Saquon Barkley as Penn State’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards (5,586), rushing touchdowns (45) and overall touchdowns (55).

“He’s a guy who has a big legacy at Penn State,” Singleton said. “To get his records means a lot.”

He has undoubtedly left his own mark. He moved past Curt Warner into fourth place on the school’s all-time rushing list with 3,461 yards, trailing only Barkley, Evan Royster and Kaytron Allen, his running mate and roommate.

“That’s crazy, man,” Singleton said.

His senior season, though, hasn’t gone the way he wanted it to go. Penn State was ranked second in The Associated Press preseason poll and stumbled to a 3-3 start before James Franklin was fired as coach.

Singleton, a preseason All-American, started slowly and saw his role reduced in the final seven games as Allen emerged as RB1 under interim head coach Terry Smith.

He never sulked or complained. He always supported Allen, who passed Royster to become Penn State’s all-time leading rusher last week against Nebraska.

“We’re super proud of him,” said Tim Singleton, his father. “Some kids would not have handled the past couple months the way he did. They would have been screaming and yelling. He kept his head high and kept working.

“At the end of the day, he broke the records, which we are super proud about. I’m probably more proud about how he handled himself the last couple months,” Tim Singleton said.

The low point came in a 25-24 loss at Iowa, where Singleton carried just six times for 15 yards.

Afterward, he sat in a corridor outside the Penn State interview room staring at the floor. He wasn’t thinking about breaking Barkley’s records; he was wondering if that was how the rest of the season would go for him.

“The Iowa game was tough,” Singleton said. “Everybody was down. Coach Terry told us the next day we had to keep working. I kept on working. My teammates and coaches were there to support me.”

At No. 1 Ohio State, he accounted for most of the yards on Penn State’s only sustained scoring drive in a 38-14 loss. The next week, he had 71 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards and scored all three of the Lions’ touchdowns in a 27-24 loss to No. 2 Indiana.

He finished with a flourish, running for 186 yards and four TDs on 31 carries and catching five passes for 74 yards in wins over Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers.

When Allen set the Penn State career rushing record against the Cornhuskers, Singleton met him on the sideline and greeted him with a bear hug and a smile.

“I couldn’t do it without him,” Allen said. “I’m glad he was here with me on this journey, pushing me and making me better. Whenever you have somebody in the room with you, competing a lot makes you better. It just keeps you going.”

Allen and Singleton have left their statistical marks at Penn State despite sharing carries for four seasons. Maybe their greatest legacy will be their unselfishness, especially Singleton’s. He took a back seat despite having a better yards-per-carry average in their careers.

“It’s impressive,” offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh said. “You want to have as many touches as possible to get into a rhythm. They’ve done it in a very unselfish way. That rubs off on the team.”

Singleton will be remembered at Penn State for the way he performed throughout his career and for the way he handled his limited role as a senior without disrupting the team.

“He has grown as a person at Penn State,” Tim Singleton said. “I’ve run into many people who have told us, ‘We love your son.’ People come up and say really good things about how he carries himself inside and outside the building.

“As a parent, that’s all you want. You want to hear that your kid has carried himself well. He hasn’t disrespected himself or the program. I’m glad that he did it this way.”

Rich Scarcella covers Penn State for MediaNewsGroup. Email him at rscarcella@readingeagle.com. Follow him on X at @nittanyrich.

Source: Berkshire mont