Penn State commit impact: What landing Nick Singleton means for the Lions

Penn State put an exclamation mark on an emphatic multi-day recruiting run on Tuesday by landing running back Nicholas Singleton.

The four-star recruit from Shillington, Pa., Governor Mifflin had a final group that included Alabama, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish appear to be the runner-up, while the other three schools were involved with but never seriously likely to land the 6-foot, 205-pound prospect who claimed nearly 40 offers.

Here are some quick thoughts on what the addition of Singleton means for the Lions and also where things stand now that the program has 18 Class of 2022 verbal commitments.

This is probably the biggest takeaway from Penn State's latest recruiting victory.

According to Rivals, Singleton is Pennsylvania's top player on offense, and the Lions were able to fend off a host of big-time suitors to keep him home.

The top player overall, Philadelphia defender Enai White, is not going to end up in State College barring a major change of heart, but unlike in cycle's past, Penn State was able to keep one of the commonwealth's best players home even if it isn't going to land the highest-rated player, and that counts for something.

Penn State has picked up players almost at will in the Keystone State in this class, which is a good sign heading into the fall.

There's simply no other way to put it: Singleton is a home run addition and will go down as one of the cycle's biggest and best signees by the time he can put his name on a National Letter of Intent in December.

When you turn on the film, it quickly becomes clear that Singleton is a threat to make a big play at any moment. He has game-changing speed, an ability to catch out of the backfield, and is tough enough to take on blocks. In other words, he does it all, and his ranking reflects his tremendous abilities.

Penn State isn't just getting a highly-regarded recruit, but also a future difference-maker and likely instant impact contributor.

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Penn State already had a running backs coach in place when Ja'Juan Seider's name was linked to the Lions' job opening for Josh Gattis' old position back in 2018, which at first was a bit of a surprise.

A few years later, plucking Seider out of the Sunshine State and away from Florida can be called one of head coach James Franklin's best off-field decisions since taking over, even if it did leave David Corley, who was shuffled to the receivers room, in an awkward spot during his one and only season in blue and white.

Singleton is the latest back that Seider has locked in. He's an ace recruiter and even better developer of talent, which is saying something considering the fact that he's known as one of the nation's best prospect hunters.

Under Seider's direction, the Lions have convinced their top back target to commit in more cycles than not, and that is yet again the case in this one.

Singleton is the first piece of Penn State's puzzle at running back in the Class of 2022.

The Lions have just five scholarship backs on their 2021 roster, and John Lovett will be gone after this season, which means just four will have eligibility to return next year. So, Penn State has long aimed for two backs in this cycle, and the board is still full of options.

Virginia native and current IMG Academy four-star Kaytron Allen might be the preferred option at this point in time. We're hearing that he's aiming to announce around July 17, although it wouldn't surprise us either if that got moved up a bit.

Virginia four-star Ramon Brown is ready to announce, as he'll make his choice known this Friday. George Pettaway and Omarion Hampton are both four-stars and still uncommitted, as well.

All told, the Lions will land one player from that group to fulfill the final slot they allotted for running backs in this class, and it will make for another tremendous haul in the backfield.

--Penn State's commitment list now includes two quarterbacks, a running back, three receivers, a tight end, three offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, a linebacker, a corner, an athlete in Mehki Flowers, and specialist Alex Bacchetta.

--Pennsylvania is now the leading state, as 10 commits from the Class of 2022 have ties to it. Others represented so far are Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

--By landing Singleton, the Lions jumped into the No. 3 spot of Rivals' national team rankings in this cycle. Only Ohio State and Notre Dame are ahead of them.

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