Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton lands on Maxwell Award watch list

Penn State has one of the best running backs rooms in college football. So, it should come as no surprise that the Nittany Lions have a member of it on the preseason award watch list for the honor given to college football’s most outstanding player regardless of position at the end of the season.

Sophomore running back Nicholas Singleton is one of roughly 80 players on the Maxwell Award preseason watch list. He is the reigning Big Ten freshman of the year and enters 2023 with hopes of being named the league and nation’s top ball carrier. He could also take home the Maxwell, which will be handed out at the ESPN Home Depot College Awards Show in December.

Singleton rushed for 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman in 2022. He will again be paired with classmate Kaytron Allen. He galloped for 867 yards and 10 scores in 2023.

Singleton, Allen, will lead the Penn State offense

Even if he isn’t also on the Maxwell Award watch list, Allen will lead the Penn State offense along with Singleton. It returns plenty of production. And, quarterback Drew Allar prepares to take over the unit.

“They’re the heart and soul of the offense,” Lions offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich recently told BWI. “At the end of the day, you have to stop them. You may be in a really good call, but they’re talented enough to still win. That’s why you make them the heart and soul. They can be in a great call, in a good defense, a loaded front, and you still don’t know. You know?

“You want to lean on that. When in doubt, you’re going to default to the run game, and that’s a good thing to have. That helps the defense out, it helps your special teams out, it helps field position. You want to be in control of every game. You want to have that feeling. Having a dominant run game helps you have that feeling that you’re never really having to play from behind and you’re controlling the game. We want to control the game.”

Watch list season is here. Penn State will have more players recognized over the next two weeks as it kicks off preseason camp. The Nittany Lions then open the season on Sept. 2 against West Virginia. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET. NBC will televise the matchup in its first Big Ten Saturday Night slot of the year.

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