How Nick Singleton Just Rekindled Penn State’s Offensive Identity
Penn State Football lost yet another game to a top-5 team last Saturday, even without James Franklin at the helm.
But, despite the heartbreaking loss to Indiana in the waning seconds, Saturday’s loss had a different feel to it.
It wasn’t one of those games where the Nittany Lions’ offense couldn’t get untracked. It was a game that Penn State imposed its offensive will against the No. 2 team in the country, forcing the Hoosiers to need a miracle drive and a miracle catch to walk out of Beaver Stadium with their unblemished record intact.
And if there was one spark of hope buried in the frustration, it came from the one place Penn State’s identity has always lived, the backfield.
Nick Singleton looked like the player fans have been waiting to see all season.
The senior finished with 10 carries for 71 yards and two rushing touchdowns, plus three receptions for 22 yards and another score, his best all-around performance of the year.
Singleton’s complementary other half, Kaytron Allen, added 19 carries for 48 yards.
During his Monday press conference, interim head coach Terry Smith didn’t hesitate when asked what the offense needs to lean on moving forward.
“I think Nick is back full confident,” Smith told reporters. “We want to get Nick and Kaytron a combined 30-plus touches every week. They’re our best offensive players.”
It wasn’t just praise, it was a somewhat forgotten direction.
Nick Singleton Looked Like Himself Again for Penn State
Penn State’s offense has spent much of this season trying to reinvent itself with new wrinkles, new play designs, new balance. and a new quarterback.
And yet, every time the Lions have looked dangerous, it’s because Singleton and Allen were at the center of it.
Singleton’s burst was finally back Saturday, his 19-yard touchdown reception late in the fourth quarter to give his Lions the lead was vintage 2024, full of confidence and conviction. He ran with intent and purpose, and Allen complemented him the way he always does, lowering pads, absorbing hits, and softening a defense that couldn’t match Penn State’s physicality.
Together, they accounted for more than half of Penn State’s total offense, a stat that should be their road map going forward.
Terry Smith’s Message: Feed the Backs
This was supposed to be the year that Penn State’s backfield became the unstoppable juggernaut, but inconsistency in the trenches, questionable play-calling, and uneven quarterback play have kept them from ever finding that rhythm.
Allen and Singleton have each flashed glimpses of that explosiveness, Saturday being the clearest one in weeks, but they never seemed to earn the sustained trust from the staff to let them take over a game.
Smith seems intent on changing that.
The “30-touch” comment wasn’t coachspeak; it was a verbal commitment to get back to the blueprint that built the foundation of the offense in the first place.
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When the Backfield Leads, Penn State Follows
What Smith saw wasn’t just production, it was belief in his prize Lippizaner stallions.
Singleton ran like he trusted himself again, eyes clear, feet quick, cuts decisive, and the confidence he exuded Saturday radiated through the entire sideline.
When Singleton runs angry, Allen runs smarter.
When the backs are in rhythm their young quarterback, Ethan Grunkemeyer relaxes. When the offense feeds its foundation, everything feels balanced again.
That’s what Smith meant. “Back full confident” isn’t a soundbite; it’s a statement about the heart of his team.
Smith’s message was simple but probably overdue. The Penn State offense starts and ends with Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
The scoreboard didn’t reflect it Saturday when all was said and done, but the tape did.
Singleton’s confidence is back, and with it, the team’s swagger might be creeping back as well.
The formula is sitting right there. The Nittany Lions now just have to believe it.
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
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