Penn State Notebook: Nick Singleton heeds James Franklin’s advice

STATE COLLEGE – Penn State football coach James Franklin met with Nick Singleton last Sunday, telling him that he was thinking too much instead of “letting it rip.”

Singleton took his coach’s advice and rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns in the Nittany Lions’ 52-6 win over Villanova Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

“I was trusting my instincts,” he said, “and not thinking too much. I was trying not to make every play perfect. You’re going to make mistakes. I have to let the plays come to me. It’s about finding yards, dirty yards.”

Singleton increased his career touchdowns to 46, seven behind Penn State all-time leader Saquon Barkley. He also moved past Curtis Enis into third place in career rushing touchdowns with 37, one behind second-place Lydell Mitchell and six behind Barkley, the all-time leader.

Singleton’s 20 carries were the most he’s had in a game since he was a sophomore.

“I want the ball,” he said. “That’s my mentality. I’m going to do everything possible to help my team. If it’s giving me the ball two times, five times or eight times, I’ll do it.”

Singleton also caught one pass for 7 yards and made a block to spring quarterback Drew Allar for a 16-yard gain in the third quarter.

Kaytron Allen, Singleton’s running mate, ran 10 times for 86 yards and one score. Their carries are usually very close, but not Saturday.

“That was not a plan coming into the game,” Franklin said. “That’s just how the drives played out.”

Berks produces: Four of the six Berks County high school graduates who were in uniform Saturday saw playing time, two for Penn State and two for Villanova.

Former Exeter standout Joey Schlaffer, a Penn State tight end, made the first catch of his career a memorable one, hauling in a 19-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer in the fourth quarter.

Schlaffer is in his third season with the Lions and plays behind Khalil Dinkins, Luke Reynolds and Andrew Rappleyea.

“It was cool to see Joey Schlaffer get his first touchdown catch,” Franklin said. “I’m really happy for him. We talk about everybody’s journey being different. I was very, very happy for Joey and his family. He maximized the opportunity he got.”

Singleton, of course, ran for 84 yards and two scores.

For Villanova, backup quarterback Tanner Maddocks, a former Fleetwood star, completed 6-of-12 passes for 69 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Binkowski on the final play of the game.

It was the first touchdown pass of Maddocks’ career and came before the largest crowd he’s seen at Villanova.

JR Strauss, a high school standout at Exeter, made the second start of his career at linebacker for the Wildcats, He made two tackles before he left the game with an injury and did not return, according to a Villanova official.

Former Wyomissing standouts J’ven Williams and Caleb Brewer, both offensive linemen at Penn State, did not play.

Barker’s perfect: Penn State kicker Ryan Barker made field goals of 45, 28 and 42 yards Saturday and 5-of-5 PATs.

Barker, a Kennett High School grad, has made 9-of-10 field goal attempts this season after hitting 15-of-18 last season.

“His field goals are going to win us a game at some point this year,” Franklin said. “We take a lot of pride in that whole unit and its consistency.

“I think Ryan Barker has been really consistent all year for us. That’s going to be important for us all year.”

Nittany lines: Franklin tied Rip Engle for second place in Penn State football history with the 104th win of his career. Engle coached the Lions from 1950-65 before Joe Paterno, one of his assistant coaches, was named as his successor.

Penn State offensive lineman Eagan Boyer, defensive end Cortez Harris and linebacker Alex Tatsch made their college debuts. Harris and Tatsch are two of 10 true freshmen who have played this season.

Penn State has won 31 straight non-conference home games since a 34-31 loss to UCF in 2013.