Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1480138
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 9 OPENING SHOT BREAKING AWAY On an early December day nearly two years ago, Penn State ventured to Rutgers and overcame the blustery field conditions to pull out a 23-7 victory. Forced to rely primarily on their running game due to the wind, the Nittany Lions piled up 248 yards on the ground. None of their five ball carriers sur- passed 100 yards individually, but their collective performance against the Scarlet Knights seemed like a positive sign for the ground attack. It wasn't. Penn State's victory in Piscataway turned out to be the first of 17 consecutive games in which the team failed to produce a 100-yard rushing perfor- mance. The hard-luck streak encompassed the last three games of the 2020 season, all 13 games last year and the 2022 season opener at Purdue. By the time they kicked off their home opener against Ohio on Sept. 10, the Lions and their fans were impatient for someone to break out. Someone did. True freshman Nicholas Single- ton ended the drought emphatically, rushing for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 46-10 victory. Displaying the breakaway potential that program insiders had been raving about since his arrival on campus in January, Singleton had runs of 70, 48 and 44 yards in the win. "I think you saw today what he brings to the offense," super senior quarterback Sean Clifford said. "He's explosive, he's fast, he sees the field well. He just adds that dynamic of being able to get on the perimeter and then finish plays in the end zone. I think it was just a matter of time, and I'm excited for him. He's going to have a great career here, and this is probably just the begin- ning for him." Coach James Franklin had said going into the season that the plan was to rotate the team's running backs — Singleton, third-year sophomore Keyvone Lee, true freshman Kaytron Allen and fourth-year junior Devyn Ford. If one of them was having more success than the others, Penn State would go with the hot hand. Against Ohio, it was Singleton who had the hot hand, so he received 10 carries, while Allen and Lee combined for 7. Ford didn't have any carries against the Bobcats. With the Lions comfortably ahead in the second half, eight players ended up getting carries in the game, but it was Singleton's three long runs that had everyone buzzing afterward. "We were able to get some explosive plays in the running game," Franklin said, "which was needed." PHOTO BY FRANK HYATT