‘We have a cool dynamic’: No. 1 RB Nick Singleton to join Penn State early with No. 1 QB Drew Allar
READING, Pa. (BVM) — This month is proving to be eventful for the Class of 2022’s No. 1 running back in the country, Nicholas Singleton. Last week, Singleton was awarded a five-star ranking by 247Sports. Looking ahead, he’s set to sign his NLI with the Nittany Lions football program on Dec. 15 — which is days apart from when he graduates from Governor Mifflin High School a semester early.
“I’m going to enroll early at Penn State so that in January, I can get the playbook down, get a head start on my school work and get a feel of the campus earlier,” Singleton said. “My goal is to put the work in before I start playing as a true freshman. With me signing and enrolling early, I can get ready for what’s in store for my future.”
That ‘future’ is expected to be big for Singleton considering that he’s a part of an impressive ‘22 recruiting class: the team of 25 commits is nationally ranked as No. 6 overall by 247Sports and leading the pack is the nation’s No. 1 ranked QB, Drew Allar. Allar will also join the Nittany Lions this January so that he can gain experience during the spring football season.
“It’s going to be hard to stop us in the future,” Singleton said. “We have a cool dynamic as a good RB and QB — we can really do it all. For the class overall, my expectations are that we plan in a couple of years to win a Big Ten and national championship.”
Singleton is ranked as the No. 20 overall prospect after having a career for the record books. He has scored over 100 career touchdowns and he’s the Berks County all-time rushing leader with over 6,000 yards.
For his senior season alone, he rushed for over 2,000 yards and scored 43 touchdowns to lead his team to a 10-1 record. The season came to an end in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Football Championship after a 31-28 close battle against Exeter Township.
“I feel like we had a good season even though it didn’t end how we wanted it to,” Singleton said. “I couldn’t have had great stats without my teammates going hard like they did every play.”
Singleton noted that he’s worked hard over the years, so to see the success play out with the team before finally earning his five-star ranking means a lot to him. Now, he’s excited to represent his home state at a school that feels like home. After receiving over 30 DI offers from schools including Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, Singleton said he’s ready to join the team that he believes will best set him up for a future pro career.
“I feel like they’re going to be hard on me knowing that I’m coming in as the top running back, but I’ll be up for the challenge”, Singleton said. “Looking at top running backs from Penn State — including Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders — really motivates me since they show how the program produces greats and one day I could be one of them.”
