#Penn #States #Nick #Singleton #handling #limelight #James #Franklin
Nick Singleton can’t avoid attention these days, even if he tries.
According to Penn State football coach James Franklin, Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star and a freshman, has handled the national limelight well.
“I think that is a little bit of his personality,” Franklin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “He’s very Steady Eddie. He doesn’t get too high. He doesn’t get too low. It’s how he was raised by his family and the program that he came from, Gov. Mifflin. They’ve done a really good job of preparing him for this as well.”
Singleton has run 30 times for 334 yards and four touchdowns in his first three games for No. 14 Penn State (3-0), which faces Central Michigan (1-2) Saturday at noon (TV-BTN, WEEU-AM/830) at Beaver Stadium.
He leads the Football Bowl Subdivision with 11.1 yards per carry and ranks 12th in yards per game (111.3). Only Larry Johnson, with 362 in 2002, has had more rushing yards through the first three games of a season for Penn State since 2000.
Singleton carried 10 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the Nittany Lions’ 41-12 blowout win at Auburn.
He became the first Penn State player since Saquon Barkley in 2015 to be named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week two straight times. In addition, longtime ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit selected him as his second-best player of last weekend, behind Washington quarterback Michael Penix.
“The players (his teammates) give him a hard time because after he scores a touchdown they say he has no swag,” Franklin said. “He’s no swag and all substance. They love to give him a hard time but it doesn’t faze him. We’ve been counting. I think he’s said 17 words since he’s been at Penn State.”
Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith threw a punishing block to help free Singleton on a 54-yard touchdown jaunt early in the fourth quarter at Auburn.
“From the first day I met him, Nick has been real humble,” Lambert-Smith said Tuesday. “He came in with the hype as a five-star and No. 1 (recruit) in the country. He doesn’t say a lot. He always has his head down and working.
“I’ve got nothing but respect for him.”
Senior offensive lineman Bryce Effner said Singleton and fellow freshman back Kaytron Allen have made a rapid impact on the line, the offense and the Lions as a whole with their performances so far.
Neither Singleton or Allen has been available for interviews because Penn State does not let freshmen do them.
“To put it in simplest terms, they’ve just brought energy,” Effner said. “When you have younger guys like Kaytron and Nick, they’re feeling the energy of the stadium, the fans and what Penn State football is for their first time. It’s incredible.
“To see younger guys (like them) experience it like that, it’s, it’s, it’s really something of beauty. It’s something to see. I love it. It’s probably one of the best feelings to have as an older guy to know the younger guys are having a great time. It’s awesome.”
Allen has rushed 23 times for 106 yards and four touchdowns, including a career-high 59 yards and two TDs against Auburn. Nicknamed “Fatman,” he has dropped about 15 pounds since arriving on campus in January.
“He’s less and less of his nickname,” Franklin said. “He’s probably changed his body as much as anybody in our program. He physically looks different. He’s quicker. He’s faster. He’s more explosive. He’s playing confident, really good football right now.
“He’s thriving in a lot of ways. He’s somewhat quiet and not the most expressive guy. He’s starting to break out of his shell. I’m really proud of him ”
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