Nick Singleton is starting to look like his old explosive self, which is a positive sign for Penn State as it prepares for its regular-season finale and a College Football Playoff run.

Singleton was nagged by injuries — “bumps and bruises” as James Franklin calls it — throughout the Big Ten schedule. He took a beating against Illinois in the conference opener, missed the UCLA game and had not looked the same in the following weeks.

But Singleton, one of the most dynamic running backs not just in the Big Ten but in college football, is finally healthy. That was apparent in his 100-yard performance in the win at Minnesota. And it was confirmed by Franklin during his Monday news conference.

“The reality is he’s healthy again. You guys know what a healthy Nick Singleton looks like. He wasn’t that,” Franklin said. “ … He’s back closer to 100% than he’s been in a while.”

Singleton displayed his explosiveness in Penn State’s 26-25 win over the Golden Gophers. The junior rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries (4.8 yards per carry) and added 37 receiving yards on six catches. He had four carries of 9 yards or more, including a third-down burst that set up Penn State’s game-clinching, fourth-and-1 conversion.

Singleton didn’t have any jaw-dropping 40-yard runs. He didn’t necessarily look like Saquon Barkley. But he showed noticeable improvement, the kind that can help propel him to bigger and better performances in the near future.

Singleton started the year off hot. He rushed for 408 yards and three touchdowns on 53 carries in Penn State’s first four games. He had four rushes of 20-plus yards, averaged 7.7 yards per carry and ranked in the upper-tier nationally with 4.2 yards after contact per attempt.

Those numbers dropped significantly after the Illinois game Sept. 28. Singleton picked up an undisclosed injury against the Illini that kept him out of the UCLA game the next week.

In his next five appearances, Singleton rushed for 175 yards and one touchdown on just 42 carries. He had zero runs of 20-plus yards and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. His yearlong yards after contact per attempt has dipped to 3.4 — middle of the pack nationally.

The numbers suggest something was off, and the eye test backed that up. Singleton was playing through those “bumps and bruises.”

“The reality is in major college football or the NFL, there are very few people that are going to be 100% all year long,” Franklin said. “So you play with the things you can play with and manage, and the doctors and trainers will step in when you can’t. Nick went out there and played the best he could under the circumstances. But he was not 100%.”

Now that he’s closer to 100%, there’s reason to believe Singleton will build on his encouraging performance at Minnesota as Penn State prepares to face Maryland.

The Terrapins have allowed 580 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 126 carries (4.6 yards per carry) in their last three games, all losses to Oregon, Rutgers and Iowa. Saturday should be a chance for Singleton — and co-starter Kaytron Allen — to feast on Thanksgiving weekend.

Saturday also represents, potentially, Singleton’s last game at Beaver Stadium. The junior is an NFL prospect and could declare for the 2025 draft after the season. And while Penn State is in a strong position to host a first-round CFP game, that’s not a guarantee.

Home game sentimentalities aside, it would be good to see Singleton have an emphatic performance against Maryland as another confidence builder before the CFP.

“We need that,” Franklin said of Singleton’s health. “He’s an explosive player. I think when defensive coordinators see that, when the defensive players see that, it changes how they defend him and how they defend us. If you make one mistake, he could go for 80.”

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