Nick Singleton’s freaky dedication leads to ‘scary’ 2023 expectations at Penn State

Penn State strength and conditioning coach Chuck Losey initially declined naming someone who should be on a publication’s annual list of college football’s most freakishly athletic players.

Moments later, though, Losey was asked about Gov. Mifflin product Nick Singleton, the 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year who rushed for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“You talk about a freaks list?” he asked. “If I had a candidate, that would be the one right there. He approaches training the same way Saquon (Barkley) approached training, the same way Miles (Sanders) approached training. He’s the same dude every day.”

Comparing Singleton to a pair of former Penn State backs who are in the NFL is heady stuff, but he has a singular focus to be the best running back in the country. It’s what drives him to succeed. It’s why he made such a spectacular debut last season for the Nittany Lions and why the expectations for him this season are very high.

Athlon Sports named him to its preseason All-America third team, and Phil Steele’s College Football Preview selected him to its All-America fourth team. Lindy’s College Football Preview listed him as the fifth-best running back in the nation.

“For him, there is no ceiling,” Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider said. “He’s naturally going to get better. He’s going to get even stronger and faster, which is scary. The whole game’s going to slow down for him even more.

“And he’s eager. People see the game results. They should come and see how hard this kid practices. To me, that’s what makes him special.”

Singleton will join college teammates J’ven Williams (Wyomissing) and Joey Schlaffer (Exeter) Saturday at Penn State Night at FirstEnergy Stadium, where the Reading Fightin Phils will play Hartford in an Eastern League game.

Singleton will pose for photos from 5 to 6 p.m.; Williams and Schlaffer will do the same and sign autographs during the same hour.

After being named the Gatorade National High School Football Player of the Year in 2021, Singleton naturally drew a lot of attention before he began his college career. He capped his first season with an electrifying 87-yard touchdown run against Utah in the Rose Bowl and another score. He ran for 120 yards on seven carries against the Utes.

“When you’re the No. 1 player in the country, there’s a target on your back,” Seider said. “A lot of people want to see you fail, let’s be honest. To see him live up to the expectations and he never got caught up in the hype, that told me he can handle anything you throw at him.”

Singleton burst onto the scene by rushing for 179 yards and two TDs against Ohio University in his Beaver Stadium debut. If doubts lingered, he eliminated them the following week when he ran for 124 yards and two more scores in a blowout win at Auburn.

“He had one moment in the Auburn game when I saw the big eyes of a freshman,” Seider recalled. “As that game went on, he started realizing, ‘You know what, not only am I a good player. I’m the best player on the field.’

“That’s when I knew it was about to get real scary.”

Singleton led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally with seven runs of at least 40 yards, including five touchdowns. He averaged 6.8 yards per carry, second in the conference and seventh in the nation.

He and Kaytron Allen became the first true freshman teammates in Big Ten history with at least 700 rushing yards apiece, helping rejuvenate Penn State’s ground attack.

“You have two kids who know there’s still a long way to go,” Seider said. “I tell them all the time there’s a sophomore slump out there, too, eager to bring them down. It’s their job to make sure that doesn’t happen, but it’s also my job.”

Losey has seen a lot of talented players come through Penn State in his nine seasons on the staff. He knows what it takes to become great, and he sees that in Singleton.

“I know exactly what I’m going to get out of Nick when he comes in the weight room,” he said, “or when he shows up in Holuba (Hall) or when he shows up on the field for a run or a lift or whatever it is. I know exactly who I’m going to get.

“I can’t state that enough. It’s a huge piece of (his) success.”