Penn State's Nicholas Singleton Expected Back for USC Game

Singleton, the Nittany Lions' leading rusher, missed the UCLA game. Coach James Franklin said he's confident Singleton will be "ready to go" vs, the Trojans.

Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton (walks off the field following a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State coach James Franklin said that he's "very confident" running back Nicholas Singleton will be ready for Saturday's game at USC after missing the first game of his career. Singleton, the team's leading rusher, did not play in the Nittany Lions' 27-11 victory over UCLA after being scratched from the lineup on a late decision following pregame warmups.

"We’re very confident, and I think Nick’s very confident talking to him on Sunday, that he’ll be ready to go," Franklin said Monday at his weekly press conference.

Franklin does not discuss specifics regarding player injuries, but Singleton was hurt during the team's 21-7 victory over Illinois, in which he rushed 16 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. Franklin said that Singleton did not practice last Tuesday and Wednesday, typically Penn State's toughest practice days, but did participate last Thursday and Friday.

Penn State listed Singleton as "questionable" on its Big Ten availability report, and the running back was in uniform and participated in pregame warmups. Following warmups, Franklin spoke with running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider and head trainer Andy Mutnan, and they decided that Singleton would not play.

"He wasn’t 100 percent, but again, we thought he was going to go [against UCLA]," Franklin said. "I guess my point is, he was very close to going last week, so as long as we don’t have any setbacks this week, I would anticipate him going and I also would anticipate him practicing Tuesday and Wednesday. But we’ll see how this whole thing plays out."

The fourth-ranked Nittany Lions (5-0) didn't have their sharpest run game against UCLA without Singleton, who had played in 30 consecutive games before last Saturday. The running back averaged 102 yards through four games and ranks fifth in the Big Ten at 7.7 yards per carry. Penn State, which entered the game averaging a Big Ten-best 251 yards rushing per game, ran for a season-low 85 yards against UCLA. It was the offense's lowest total since rushing for 49 yards against Ohio State last season.

Singleton adds a dynamic factor to Penn State's offense as the team's most explosive runner. He began the season with back-to-back 100-yard games, ranks seventh in the Big Ten in average yards from scrimmage (120.5) and has three carries of 40+ yards. Singleton also handles kickoffs for the Nittany Lions.

"It was definitely different not having my dog out there," said Penn State running back Kaytron Allen, who rushed 21 times for 78 yards against UCLA. "He's going to be straight, he's going to be good."

A season of injuries for Penn State

Singleton's return is critical for a team that has had injury issues all season. Penn State listed 16 players as "out" on its Big Ten availability report against UCLA. Only one team listed more players as "out:" UCLA had 18 against Penn State and nine more listed as "questionable." That included starting quarterback Ethan Garbers, who did not play against the Nittany Lions.

Two Penn State starters have sustained what Franklin has called "long-term" injuries during the season: safety and captain KJ Winston and tight end Andrew Rappleyea, who started the opener at West Virginia. No. 3 running back Cam Wallace sustained a "long-term" injury in Week 3 against Kent State, and several players have missed individual games, notably Singleton and linebackers Dom DeLuca and Ta'Mere Robinson. Against UCLA, starting right tackle Anthony Donkoh left the game in the first half and did not return. His availability at USC is not known.

"I think we’ve had more season-ending injures this year than in years past, and obviously that’s not ideal, and that’s where the development of the other guys and the depth is always important, but even more important this year," Franklin said. "A lot of those have been non-contact, just ones [with] guys just running without [getting] hit or [getting] rolled-up on. Just happens, so we’ve spent some time looking at that as a staff and studying that to make sure that we weren’t missing anything."

Franklin added that the injury situation has prompted Penn State to hasten the development of some young players, including true freshmen Dejaun Lane (safety) and Quinton Martin Jr. (running back). Reed played a season-high 30 snaps against UCLA, while Martin played a season-high 16 snaps (with one carry and three receptions).

"I don’t talk about injuries a whole lot on the front end, so it’s hard to use them on the back end," Franklin said. "So we just have a 'next man up' mentality and keep plugging along and finding ways to develop and create depth. Lane is a good example of that. He’s getting better each week. We’re going to need to continue to do that at safety as well as other positons, too. But there’s been some benefits: Quinton getting in this past week and doing some good things in the reps that he got.

"The challenge is, how do we balance it? It’s easy just to say, 'Play them.' But I also want to make sure that we don’t look back, and the kids don’t look back at the end of the year and feel like, 'I wish I would have redshirted.' And with the new rules, it allows you to be strategic and try to hold those guys as long as you can until you can’t anymore. So that’s what we’re trying to do."

Penn State visits USC on Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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