Lions set to Host Elite 2022 RBs

Penn State will welcome two of the region’s top up-and-coming running backs Saturday for its annual Lasch Bash barbecue. Tevin White, from North Stafford in Virginia and Nick Singleton, from Governor Mifflin in Pennsylvania, both earned offers from James Franklin this summer.

The Class of 2022 prospects have also been on campus before. In fact, White will be returning to State College for his fourth visit already. In addition to last year’s Whiteout game against Ohio State, as well as a junior day visit in March, White camped with the coaching staff last month. That was his first opportunity to work with running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider.

“He was just really friendly. It was like talking to my own father,” White said, when asked about his time with Seider. “He felt like a father figure. But he’s a good coach, too. He showed me a few things that day. It was a good experience for me. I enjoyed working with Coach Seider.”

Singleton will be taking his second visit to Penn State in the past month. He previously attended the Whiteout Camp back on June 22.

“The Whiteout Camp was my first time getting to check everything out. It was great,” said Singleton. “All the coaches down there are nice people. I really like their players. They’re fun. I got to talk to them during the drills we were doing.

"But everything was good. The camp was good and they took me around their facility after that. It was a nice inside. The weight room was nice.”

Franklin and his assistants have already offered a few other running back prospects in the 2022 class, but it’s becoming clear that White and Singleton are near the top of the recruiting board. Despite the fact that both are just 15 years old, the pair put up some very impressive numbers during testing. According to White, he posted a 4.1-second shuttle and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds. He also jumped 10-feet, 2-inches in the broad jump, which is among the best we’ve seen at all of Penn State’s camps this summer.

Singleton also put up some excellent times, running the shuttle in 4.2 seconds and the 40 in 4.54 seconds. However, his bench press was arguably the most impressive test, as Singleton put up 17 reps at 225 pounds. Many of the top linemen that have camped at Penn State this summer haven’t reached that number on the bench.

Fortunately for the staff, both players also have real interest in wearing the blue and white. Singleton grew up just 150 miles from campus. While he didn’t follow any particular schools growing up, he did admit that he’s been watching the Nittany Lions throughout his youth.

White already has a close friend on the roster. Last season, he backed up Devyn Ford at North Stafford.

“Obviously, Devyn’s decision to come to Penn State opened my eyes to them more, but honestly, I’d say the main thing that I really noticed about Penn State is the players they’ve produced,” said White. “Saquon Barkley is now one of the best running backs in the NFL and I know a lot about Ricky Slade. They always have great running backs. Now, they have Devyn, so I like how deep they are. I know they have a good coach at that position, too.”

Aside from Penn State, White also holds early offers from Duke, Georgia, Indiana and Virginia. Singleton picked up his second Football Bowl Subdivision offer last week from Pitt. It’s only a matter of time until both players see more of the nation’s top programs join the race for their signatures.