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James Franklin provides update on star RB Nick Singleton for Week 7
By Mark Kern
Published:
James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions were able to get a 27-11 win against the UCLA Bruins despite not having star running back Nick Singleton. He missed the game due to an ailment, but even Franklin thought his running back was going to play.
“I thought he was going last Saturday,” Franklin said in his Monday press conference. “He didn’t practice Tuesday… Didn’t practice on Wednesday when y’all were out there. Was able to go limited on Thursday, was able to go a little bit on Friday which is not a whole lot as you know, but the trainers take those guys and work them out on their own so that’s part of the evaluation. And then Saturday, I wouldn’t say he was 100% but we thought he was going to go.”
While he was kind of surprised that Singleton didn’t play against UCLA, Franklin sounds like he once again believes Singleton will be ready to play against USC.
“I guess my point is he was very close to being able to go last week, so as long as we don’t have any setbacks this week, I would anticipate him going,” Franklin said. “And I would also anticipate him practicing on Tuesday and Wednesday. But we’ll see how this whole thing plays out. We are very confident and I think Nick is very confident from talking with him on Sunday that he’ll be able to go.”
With Singleton out, Kaytron Allen received the bulk of the carries, finishing with 21 carries for 78 yards and 1 touchdown. Penn State really struggled to run the ball without their star running back, as they rushed it 30 times for 85 yards.
Up next is a USC team that is coming off a shocking loss at Minnesota. Kickoff between Penn State and USC is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.