SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Nick Singleton will decide whether to return to Penn State for his senior year or make himself available for the NFL draft whenever this season ends.
Singleton has many factors to consider, including financial ones. But he believes he can work on much in his game if he does come back.
“Everything,” he said Sunday. “There’s no one thing that I’m finished working on. There’s stuff I can work on. Running the ball. Catching the ball out of the backfield. Running different routes. Not just running back routes. Blocking, too.
“We always talk about beating safeties one-on-one. I want to work on making safeties miss when I get the opportunity,” he said.
Singleton is playing his best football of the season going into the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (TV-ESPN).
He ran for 282 yards and scored four touchdowns in the Nittany Lions’ last three games. He leads them with 928 rushing yards and eight TDs and is third in receptions, with 39 for 342 yards and five TDs.
He’s also enjoying his best health since early in the season.
“We’re starting to see Nick as the running back we envisioned,” Penn State assistant coach Ja’Juan Seider said. “He’s playing the game using different paces. He’s setting up blocks better. He’s starting to show that in the last four or five weeks.
“He’s starting to really understand who he is as a running back,” he said. “This kid is starting to be really, really good. He’s always been good, but now he’s being special good.”
Since his arrival from Gov. Mifflin as the top high school player in the country, Singleton has made quantum leaps in his receiving and pass blocking.
During a stretch against Illinois in September, he made a crushing block on a linebacker to protect quarterback Drew Allar and ran over a defender after catching a pass. The two plays prompted Seider to jump up and down on the sideline.
“Those are the ways his game has evolved,” Seider said. “He wasn’t a natural receiver his freshman year. We wouldn’t even throw it to him. Now he’s becoming more adept. I’m really proud of that evolution in his game.”
Singleton’s leadership also is valuable, especially as a role model to freshmen Corey Smith and Quinton Martin. Although he doesn’t say much, teammates listen when he speaks.
“Early on, Nick wasn’t going to talk a lot,” Seider said. “The new Nick, the junior year Nick, has matured. Now Nick will talk. Nick is having fun. Now he understands how to lead.
“Nick’s work ethic is like a walk-on trying to be noticed,” he said. “To this day, he’s going to finish every wind sprint first. He’s probably the strongest kid on our team pound for pound. He doesn’t take short cuts. That’s what makes Nick the player he is.”
Singleton has a chance to become the first Penn State back with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons since Saquon Barkley in 2016-17. He’s averaging 6.4 yards per carry and thriving under first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.
He and backfield mate Kaytron Allen have rushed for almost 400 yards the last two games against Oregon and SMU.
“They’re so complementary to each other in terms of their skill sets and how we use them,” Kotelnicki said. “They’re impact players. Part of my responsibility is making sure the impact players get the ball. They’re both playing football at the highest level they have this year.”
Singleton has been projected to be taken anywhere between the second and fourth round if he enters the 2025 NFL draft. His focus has always been to be the best, so being a first-round pick is important to him.
“I always strive for that,” he said. “Coach Seider always says, ‘If you come to Penn State to play running back, you don’t want to go in the second or third round.’ That’s not bad, but you always try to accomplish going in the first round.”
