Governor Mifflin running back Nick Singleton was named Gatorade National Football Player of the Year on Tuesday, a day before he was set to sign with Penn State.
                                 Gatorade

Governor Mifflin running back Nick Singleton was named Gatorade National Football Player of the Year on Tuesday, a day before he was set to sign with Penn State.

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Nick Singleton knew there was good news coming. That’s generally the expectation when you’re put on a video call with a smiling Saquon Barkley on a Tuesday afternoon.

Penn State’s newest running back heard it straight from one of Penn State’s most famous at the position.

“I got some news for you,” Barkley told Singleton. “You know you’re the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year?”

In a video filmed by Gatorade, Singleton could only smile himself as the room around him erupted into applause and he was handed his trophy.

Not a bad lead-in to Wednesday’s national signing day, when he will officially join the Nittany Lions and hope to follow in Barkley’s famed footsteps.

Singleton, who topped 2,000 yards on the ground in 11 games as a senior at Governor Mifflin, became the first Pennsylvania player to win the prestigious honor since Berwick’s Ron Powlus in 1992. The 1993 winner was Peyton Manning, and the award has gone to future No. 1 overall draft picks in the NFL (Jeff George, Tim Couch, Kyler Murray) and even MLB (Joe Mauer).

“It’s (not just) your accomplishments on the football field, it’s the way you attack the classroom, it’s the way you’re active in your community,” Barkley, who starred at Whitehall High School, told Singleton. “I know personally, going to Penn State, that’s something that’s also going to be instilled in you from (coach James) Franklin down on.”

Singleton finished the 2022 cycle rated the No. 1 running back in the country by one recruiting service, 247Sports, after scoring 44 total touchdowns as a senior and averaging over 12 yards per carry. He also holds a 3.51 GPA and has been involved in multiple charitable works.

“Nick Singleton has every single desirable trait at the running position,” said Steve Wiltfong, director of football recruiting for 247Sports, in a release. “His combination of size, elite speed, elusiveness and power is rare. There’s a reason he’s our top-ranked prospect at the position. He has the ability to get tough yards and also hit the home run. He’s the type of athlete who could win the 100-meter dash and the shot put in the same track meet.

“Nick is mature, focused, hard-working and also has all the attributes coaches covet as a student and leader. Tangibles. Intangibles. This young man has it all.”

Fortunately for Singleton, he should have plenty of help from his new teammates in meeting those lofty expectations.

After a sub-par result with last year’s signing class, the Lions are set to rebound on Wednesday with a top-10 group that boasts four top-100 overall players — five-star Ohio quarterback Drew Allar (No. 27), Singleton (49), Ohio wide receiver Kaden Saunders (52) and Maryland defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton (55) — in the 247Sports Composite.

Penn State has 25 verbal commitments who could potentially sign Wednesday in the early window. Franklin and the Lions prefer to lock in as many recruits as possible in December rather than wait for the traditional signing day in February.

Unlike last season in which the Lions struggled to keep the state’s top talent home, Penn State is set to sign eight of Pennsylvania’s top 15 in the Composite rankings. Singleton (No. 2), Downingtown West OL Drew Shelton (3), Central Dauphin East ATH Mehki Flowers (4), Manheim Township WR Anthony Ivey (6), Northeast EDGE Ken Talley (9) and La Salle College LB Abdul Carter (10) are four-star prospects, followed by a pair of three-stars in Imhotep Institute LB Keon Wylie (13) and Central York QB Beau Pribula (14).

Penn State’s pipeline to Lackawanna College is also set to continue with commitments from Falcons offensive lineman JB Nelson and safety Tyrece Mills. Nelson is rated as the nation’s No. 2 junior college prospect for the cycle in the Composite.

Plenty of focus will be on the quarterbacks, as Allar and Pribula will bring the Lions back up to four scholarship quarterbacks after going with just three this season. With Sean Clifford returning for a sixth year, they will both have a chance to ease into their college transitions and compete with Christian Veilleux for the top backup role. Ta’Quan Roberson, as expected, has entered his name in the transfer portal and will likely leave the program.

The Lions have largely managed to escape signing day drama in recent years, though one name on their commitment list could be in question. Maryland offensive lineman Andre Roye took an official visit to USC over the weekend and was something of a surprise commitment to begin with for the Lions when he pledged to them back in September.