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Penn State's Nicholas Singleton Is Setting a Spectacular Pace

The freshman is off to the best start for a Penn State back since Larry Johnson Jr.'s record-setting 2002 season.

Mark Wogenrich

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Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton still had 45 yards to go, with only an Auburn safety (who also wore No. 10) in front of him. Teammate Brenton Strange called game right there.

After helping open space for Singleton, the Penn State tight end pointed the freshman back to the end zone, predicting a 54-yard touchdown run that punctuated the Lions' 41-12 victory over the Tigers.

Strange also pointed Singleton into a rare early realm for Penn State running backs.

Singleton has rushed for 334 yards in three games, the best start ever for a freshman back at Penn State. He's outpacing Saquon Barkley, who went for 311 through three games of his 2015 freshman season.

In addition, Singleton trails only Larry Johnson Jr.'s epic 2002 season for the best start of any running back over the past two decades. Johnson rushed for 362 yards in the first three games of 2002, when he became Penn State's only 2,000-yard rusher and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting.

But Johnson carried the ball 54 times through the first three games. Singleton, meanwhile, has just 30 carries, a team-high 10 in each of his first three games.

Singleton leads the nation in average yards per carry (11.13) and runs of 40+ yards (five). No one else in the country has more than two. He also became the first Penn State true freshman to record consecutive 100-yard rushing games since Noah Cain in 2019.

Singleton finished Saturday's game with 124 yards and two touchdowns on a compact 10 carries, as the Lions overwhelmed Auburn on the ground. Penn State ran for 245 yards, its highest team total since the 2020 season-finale against Illinois, and produced its first five-rushing touchdown day since the 2019 Cotton Bowl.

Freshmen Singleton and Kaytron Allen (9 carries, 52 yards) are leading this charge, but Singleton has been the headliner.

Penn State has showcased some exceptional backs since Johnson's record season. Tony Hunt produced consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and Evan Royster set the program's career rushing record with three of them from 2008-10. Then came Saquon Barkley, Miles Sanders and Journey Brown, whose career was unfortunately cut short by a medical issues.

None, however, generated the kind of early success as Singleton. Further, with Singleton and Allen, Penn State has a pair of freshmen who are averaging 8.5 yards per carry and have scored six touchdowns. And Allen has no lost a yard on 23 carries.

"No I have not seen two guys have this kind of success [early] in their careers," Penn State coach James Franklin told reporters after the game. "We were pretty excited obviously signing them and we were pretty excited once they got on campus, because recruiting is wonderful but you never truly know until they show up on campus. Then they kept making plays and doing things."

Singleton, the 2021 Gatorade National Player of the Year at Gov. Mifflin High School, was Sports Illustrated's top-ranked running back of the 2022 recruiting class. Even before the season, John Garcia, Jr., SI's director of football recruiting, predicted that Singleton would make an immediate impact.

"This is a superstar running back, and we know what [Penn State] has done at running back," Garcia, Jr. said. "And I think Singleton is just the next guy up in that long lineage of strong backs. He's a balanced three-down back, meaning he can play inside, he can play outside, he can absolutely factor into the passing game as well. And he's physically built, ready to go right now from a height and weight standpoint at [6-0, 219 pounds]."

Penn State returns home Saturday to face Central Michigan. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on Big Ten Network.

Read More

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The Penn State-Auburn report card

Game breakdown: Penn State's defense throttles Auburn 41-12

A look at Nicholas Singleton's major NIL deal

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Penn State proposes expanding alcohol sales at Beaver Stadium

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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