Scouting Profile: Nick Singleton - RB - Penn State
Sales Pitch: Experienced downhill runner who is difficult to stop once he gets his momentum rolling.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA Top-50 for 2025*
*Red Numbers Indicate NCAA Bottom-50 for 2025*
Scouting Report
Nick Singleton is a former 5-Star recruit and the #1 player in Pennsylvania from the class of 2022. The former track star has been a staple in the Nittany Lions backfield alongside running mate Kaytron Allen, starting 32 games and carrying the ball 625 times in 4 years. Singleton leaves Penn State as a multiple time All-Big 10 running back and kick returner, with a career return average over 25 yards per attempt.
Singleton is a compact back with above average size, mass and speed. The former track star has long gliding strides with the straight-line juice to erase pursuit angles and rip off chunk gains. Singleton is at his best on gap scheme runs and inside zone, where he can get his shoulders square to the line and work downhill. He is a patient runner who lets concepts develop in front of him, with the vision to find and attack space in-between the tackles. Singleton’s powerful frame easily runs through arm tackles in the hole and has natural forward tilt to finish runs with a bang. His ability to generate momentum at his size makes him very difficult to take down once he breaks the hole into the 2nd level. Singleton is an experienced, if not very dynamic, pass catcher. He was involved out of the backfield in all four of his years at Penn State, and shows the functional ability to secure checkdowns.
Singleton looks the part of a big explosive back, but lacks the functional athleticism to be an all-around runner. He is an upright player who lacks the lower body twitch and flexibility to quickly change direction. Despite good wide zone vision, Singleton lacks the lateral agility to quickly get upfield and attack cutback lanes. He is an uncreative runner once he gets into space, struggling to drop his weight and evade tacklers at top speed. Singleton is a patient runner but it borders on indecisiveness, a big issue for a player who struggles to find creative solutions to broken plays. He looks excellent when tracking a well blocked concept but when things get murky he lacks the quickness to find answers. Singleton is an experienced third down back but not a particularly impactful one. He possesses a limited route tree that mostly features underneath checkdowns, and lacks the body control to secure passes and create after the catch. In pass protection Singleton has some highlight moments where he uses his size to light up rushers, but more often than not whiffs and allows free runners into the pocket.
Singleton profiles best as the lead ballcarrier in a gap scheme attack. Power, counter and other downhill runs allow him to use his rolling speed and power it their maximum capacity. Backs with an extensive workload and injury history usually have a capped draft ceiling, but Singleton does enough well on all three downs to have a shot a sneaking into the backend of Day-2.