The biggest note coming out of Wednesday's practice for Penn State was that Nittany Lions star running back Nick Singleton was absent.
The absence comes one day after Singleton was available to the media via zoom and four days following a 16 carries, 94 yards, and one touchdown performance against the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini at Beaver Stadium.
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So what type of update did Penn State head coach James Franklin have regarding Singleton following Wednesday's practice?
What may have sounded like a non-update, actually may have been good news for the Nittany Lions. When asked specifically by a reporter if "is there anything going on there that may impact his availability," Franklin replied "No, Not at this stage. When asked if there's anything else he could add about Singleton, Franklin answered with a simple "no".
While on the surface, a "not at this stage," answer may be concerning for the Nittany Lions, the context of being asked if there was anything going on that could impact his availability, the "not at this stage," answer becomes potentially more of a relieving answer for Penn State fans.
That being said, any potential injury to Singleton would understandably be a huge blow for the Nittany Lions in itself but compounded with the long-term injury of Cam Wallace, it would put the Nittany Lions' rushing attack in a tough spot.
Without Singleton, the Nittany Lions would be down to fellow junior tailback Kaytron Allen as well as true freshmen tailbacks Quinton Martin and Corey Smith.
"Quinton and Corey are doing really well," Franklin said about the true freshmen duo. "Both talented guys, their different than Nick and Kaytron. Maybe at some point they'll get to that size, I mean Nick and Kaytron are both big, strong, powerful backs. They're not that at this stage but they're still freshmen. But they do a really good job of making you miss, they're both really good receivers out of the backfield. So they've done some really good things and they've learned to pick things up so far well," he added.
"I think both of those guys, especially Quinton, are preparing ready to play but we'll just see how this things play out. The challenge is, Cam was our No. 3 right? What you don't want to do is you got two guys that can possibly redshirt. If you're going to use one of those guys as your No. 3, you want to make sure they get enough reps, that it makes it worthwhile. As you guys know, we want to make sure that both Nick and Kaytron get enough touches and there's just not enough touches to go around if you're going to make sure those two guys get enough, let alone all the other guys on the team."
Through Penn State's first four games of the season, only Martin has seen the field this season, recording seven carries for 24 yards, all coming in Penn State’s 56-0 win over Kent State.
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