Penn State RB commit Nicholas Singleton wins Gatorade National Player of the Year
Few players can boast the accomplishments Saquon Barkley did while he was at Penn State. The former Nittany Lion running back made hurdling defenders the norm and did it on his way to a record-setting career. Barkley owns the Penn State record for rushing touchdowns, rushing yards as a freshman, rushing yards as a sophomore and most total yards in a single game.
Plenty have tried to replicate Barkley, but there may soon be another who can match what the former Nittany Lion did in his career — Penn State commit Nicholas Singleton.
The five-star running back is off to a good start, because he already has one award Barkley didn’t earn prior to his prolific Penn State career.
Singleton was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year Tuesday afternoon, a week after he was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Pennsylvania. The award goes annually to the nation’s best high school football player.
The high school senior didn’t know how to react when he found out the news, which was delivered to him by Barkley on a Zoom call that he was told was about the state honor.
“I saw his face pop up,” Singleton said after winning the award. “I was like, there’s no way Saquon’s on here. But for him to tell me I won a national player of the year award, it’s — getting someone like him telling you that, it’s crazy. I was just really shocked. ... I’m a little shocked right now. I’m still shocked.”
Singleton won the award after running for 2,043 yards and 41 touchdowns on 165 carries this season, helping Governor Mifflin High School make the district title game.
He and his Mustang teammates were able to celebrate the moment together Tuesday morning after Barkley gave him the news. Singleton credited those teammates for helping him earn the accolade.
“It was real great, them being there, cheering me on because they’re all yelling and screaming,” he said. “It just felt good for them to be there because they’re the reasons why I got this award.”
As the No. 1 running back in the nation, according to the On3 consensus rankings, Singleton is set to sign at Penn State Wednesday during the first day of the early signing period and plans to enroll early for the spring semester. Part of the appeal of Penn State for Singleton was playing for the same program Barkley did.
“I keep working to get to that point,” Singleton previously told the Centre Daily Times. “Saquon and Miles (Sanders) are obviously great players and I know they put the work in. I’m just looking right now, I’m not looking at the future yet.”
The five-star running back won’t be the only elite talent joining the Nittany Lions in 2022. He’s a part of what currently ranks as the No. 7 class in the country, according to the On3 consensus team rankings, which includes another five-star in quarterback Drew Allar, along with 14 other players who are four-star recruits.
It also includes five of the top seven players in the state of Pennsylvania, something Penn State head coach James Franklin emphasized to Singleton throughout the recruiting process.
“Just bringing the spotlight to Penn State, it’s real good,” Singleton said. “Coach Franklin’s been preaching, literally since my freshman year, telling me the in-state players need to stay for Penn State, especially for the ‘22 class because obviously you can see the ‘22 class is doing good with all the commits we have in our state. So he’s been really just preaching, telling us to stay in-state, go win a Big Ten championship, also go win a national championship as well.”
Singleton didn’t plan to reach this point in his career. He didn’t expect to play so prolifically that he would become the top high school football player in the nation.
But he did know the level of work he was putting in would lead to good things. So far it’s led him to the top of his position rankings as a recruit, to winning the Gatorade National Player of the Year award and soon it will lead him to Penn State.
The high school senior isn’t done yet, however, and he knows there’s plenty more to be done.
“I didn’t envision myself being here ... but I knew all the hard work I’ve been putting in would pay off one of these days and happily it was today,” he said. “There’s still room to improve. My parents always say that, my coaches, even my teammates, too. Just to be here, it’s just really great.”
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 1:01 PM.
