Penn State's James Franklin Discusses Nicholas Singleton, Positional Depth and Freshmen

Franklin updated where the Nittany Lions stand after a dominant win over the Washington Huskies.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton runs with the ball before being pushed out of bounds by Washington Huskies linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala (11) during the second quarter at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State coach James Franklin conducted his weekly press conference Monday ahead of the team's Big Ten trip to Purdue on Saturday. Here are the bullet points of Franklin's update concerning the Nittany Lions.

A Nicholas Singleton update

Franklin addressed the status of running back Nicholas Singleton, who left last Saturday's game against Washington in the third quarter. Franklin specifically was asked whether Singleton's injury was "shorter-term" or "longer-term" and responded, "short-term." The coach did not elaborate. He could update Singleton's status again after the media viewing window of practice Wednesday night.

Singleton did not play against UCLA on Oct. 5, one week after sustaining a lower-body injury against Illinois. He has played every game since and looked at his most explosive against Washington, particularly on a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that was negated by a penalty.

"Nick's had some things kind of lingering on and off kind of throughout the year but has battled through them," Franklin said.

Franklin says the return penalty was a "good call"

Speaking of the penalty, a holding call, on Singleton's kickoff return, Franklin said that "it was a legitimate call."

"We clearly held a guy, hands out side and I'll be the first one to admit that that was a great call, that was a good call, that was a fair call," Franklin said.

Had the touchdown stood, it would have been Penn State's first kickoff return for a score since Singleton's 100-yarder against Rutgers in 2022.

Penn State's backfield depth gets challenged

Without Singleton in the second half against Washington, Penn State had two scholarship backs truly available: Kaytron Allen and true freshman Corey Smith. Redshirt freshman Cam Wallace is out with a "long-term" injury, and true freshman Quinton Martin Jr. has missed the last three games. Martin was not listed on the pregame availability report, but Penn State held him out of action.

Franklin said the room is holding up well, though.

"If you just look across college football and even the NFL, you'd better have depth at that position, espeically if you're committed to running the football like we are," Franklin said. "There's going to be bumps and bruises that come from that. We had two [freshmen] running backs that I think you guys knew we were excited about, and early on I think there was a lot of talk about Quinton and deservedly so. But I also think in the Lasch Building there was also a lot of excitement about Corey.

"[He's a] different style of back, but it was great to see him get in there. But the long run [a team-long 78-yarder] was probably what everybody is excited about, although he took hell for it in the team meeting yesterday with his teammates [for not scoring]. But the run that was probably most impressive to us was his first run, his first play as a college football player. The patience he showed, his ability in a little bit of a dirty read to get vertical. He still has to put on some size and do a great job in the weight room, but he stuck it up in there and had a really, really efficient run."

Depth also tested a linebacker

Franklin raved about middle linebacker Kobe King, the team's leading tackler, but said the Nittany Lions also have had to manage depth at issues at the position. King rarely leaves the field (he played 44 snaps against Washington and 56 against Ohio State) and covers a lot of ground.

"It's hard to take that guy off the field, because he runs your defense," Franklin said.

But Penn State is starting to turn to more linebackers to address depth issues. Tyler Elsdon has not played defense the past two games, and Ta'Mere Robinson played 10 snaps after missing the three previous games. Freshman linebacker Anthony Speca played for the second time this season, getting 10 snaps against the Huskies.

"We don't have great depth there," Franklin said. "We're developing it, but we've had some bumps and bruises along the way as well."

Watch for more true freshmen

With three games remaining in the regular season, Penn State has the ability to play more true freshmen without impacting their year of eligiblility. Franklin said that defensive lineman Max Granville is a good example. Granville, who reclassified from the 2025 recruiting class, has played in two games and could play in two of the remaining three and retain the season of eligibility.

Other freshmen who likely will see time over the next three weeks are Smith, Speca, receiver Tyseer Denmark, offensive linemen Eagan Boyer, defensive linemen Xavier Gilliam and Jaylen Harvey and defensive backs Antonio Belgrave-Shorter and Jon Mitchell. None has played in more than two games this season.

Penn State has played 14 true freshmen this season, with safety Dejuan Lane, tight end Luke Reynolds, offensive lineman Cooper Cousins topping the four-game threshold and using their year of eligibility.

Penn State visits Purdue at 3:30 p..m. ET on Saturday. CBS will televise.

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