Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1490816
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M just what he could do with even a sliver of an opening, but it's still rare to see a 219-pounder move like he does in the open field. Open field is just what Singleton found in the Rose Bowl's decisive moment. Be- hind blocks from freshman tackle Drew Shelton and sophomore tight end Theo Johnson, the young running back burst through the line and found a vast expanse of empty turf in front of him. He and Hu- bert blazed past each other traveling in opposite directions, and the rest of the Utah defense quickly found itself trailing the play, too. The result was an 87-yard touchdown and a seven-point lead that would even- tually become a 35-21 victory. "When you're playing a defense like that where it's hard to get yards, you're going to have a difficult time going on a 16-play, 80-yard drive," Franklin ex- plained. "You're going to have to create some explosive plays. "They were in cover zero, and we ac- tually did a fake check where we were looking to the sideline and then snapped the ball. We did something similar with Saquon Barkley in the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago." That earlier play, against a Washington defense that was known for its aggres- sion at the line of scrimmage, yielded a 92-yard touchdown run. Huskies defend- ers were looking at the sideline when the ball was snapped, and by the time Barkley reached the second level, he was an un- catchable blur. Like his All-America predecessor, Sin- gleton combines physicality and instant acceleration. Put those traits together with a schematic approach that catches opponents flatfooted at key moments, and you get the kind of plays that Penn State got from Singleton in the sec- ond half of the Rose Bowl. Said Frank- lin, "Once you crease them, with Nick's speed, we were able to make a huge play and swing the momentum in the game." The Rose Bowl wasn't the first game in which Singleton and fellow freshman running back Kaytron Allen sparked a Penn State offensive surge. Singleton had five runs of more than 40 yards in his first three college games, while Allen showed throughout the season that he was much more than a complementary threat, twice topping 100 yards. Together, they helped the Nittany Li- ons vault from 118th in the country in rushing average during the 2021 season (107.8 yards per game) to 45th this past year (181.1). No Penn State ball carrier surpassed 100 yards in any game the year before, but Singleton and Allen combined to do it six times in 2022. That improve- Singleton's 120-yard performance in the Rose Bowl gave him 1,061 rushing yards for the season, the second-highest total by a freshman in school history. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS