For much of the 2025 season, Penn State’s offense never found much of a groove. The Nittany Lions went through stretches of bad play, struggled to have explosive plays, and leaned on defense to compete in games. As a result, several skill-position players saw their production and draft stock dip, including running back Nicholas Singleton.
Once viewed as one of the best running backs in college football, Singleton’s year didn’t go as planned. The flashes were still there, but the dominance that he showed in his early career was never really there. From a potential top draft pick to many questions, the Senior Bowl will be a spot for Singleton to show what he still has.
With scouts, coaches, and front-office personnel at the event, it can often be a great spot for prospects whose college production didn’t tell the full story. For Singleton, it gives him an opportunity to reintroduce himself outside the context of Penn State’s offensive struggles.
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller believes it could work strongly in Singleton’s favor.
“Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton will break out,” Miller wrote. “He has the tools to shine at the Senior Bowl after a quiet season in which he had only 549 rushing yards on 123 carries as part of a greater Nittany Lions offensive malaise.
“Singleton’s burst at 6 feet, 224 pounds stands out as a trait that teams will always covet when evaluating running backs. There isn’t a clear RB2 in the class behind Jeremiyah Love, and Singleton could rise into that ranking."
Singleton’s size and speed combination remains important for NFL scouts, and when he finds space, he has the chance to break something off and make a big play. While he wasn’t great last year, it’s important to note that he still finished with 13 touchdowns.
NFL teams have long prioritized runners who can generate explosive gains without needing perfect blocking, something Singleton has shown he can do outside of last year.
The Jeremiyah Love note is interesting, as Love is probably the best RB in the class. However, I don’t think it’s crazy to say that if Singleton did what he was supposed to do last year, he might be viewed as the RB1 heading into the draft.