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James Franklin discusses Nick Singleton, depth and freshmen

Umito November 12, 2024

Penn State coach James Franklin held his weekly news conference Monday ahead of the Big Ten team’s trip to Purdue on Saturday. Here are the points from Franklin’s update regarding the Nittany Lions.

An update from Nicholas Singleton

Franklin addressed the status of running back Nicholas Singleton, who left last Saturday’s game against Washington in the third quarter. Franklin was specifically asked if Singleton’s injury was “short term” or “long term” and responded “short term.” The coach did not specify. He could update Singleton’s status again after Wednesday night’s media practice window.

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

“Nick had some things that persisted throughout the year, but he struggled to overcome them,” Franklin said.

Franklin says return penalty was a ‘good decision’

Speaking about the penalty, a holding call, on Singleton’s kickoff return, Franklin said “it was a legitimate call.”

“We clearly held a guy, hands out and I’ll be the first to admit it was a good decision, it was a good decision, it was a fair decision,” Franklin said.

Had the touchdown happened, it would have been Penn State’s first kickoff return for a score since Singleton’s 100-yard run against Rutgers in 2022.

Penn State backfield depth in question

Without Singleton in the second half against WashingtonPenn State had two scholarships actually 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 kept him out of action.

Franklin said the piece held up well, though.

“If you just look at college football and even the NFL, you better have depth at that position, especially if you’re committed to running the football like we are,” Franklin said. “There’s going to be some bumps and bruises that come from it. We had two (freshmen) running backs that I think you knew we were excited about, and early on, I think there was a lot of talk about Quinton and rightly so. But I also think in the Lasch building there was a lot of excitement about Corey as well.

“(It’s a) different style of back, but it was great to see him get in there. But the long run (a 78-yard run for the whole team) was probably what everyone was excited about , even though he lashed out at the devil in the team meeting yesterday with his teammates (for not scoring). But the run that probably impressed us the most was his first run, his first play in). as a college football player, the patience he showed, his ability in a dirty state read to get vertical He still needs to put on size and do a great job in the weight room, but he held his own. and had a really, really efficient race.

Depth also tested a linebacker

Franklin praised middle linebacker Kobe King, the team’s leading tackler, but said the Nittany Lions also had to deal with depth 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 get that guy off the field, because he runs your defense,” Franklin said.

But Penn State is starting to look to more linebackers to solve depth issues. Tyler Elsdon hasn’t played defense in the last two games and Ta’Mere Robinson played 10 snaps after missing the previous three 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 in the process of developing it, but we’ve also had a few bumps and bruises along the way.”

Watch for other real freshmen

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

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

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

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