BREAKING: Penn State football star in starting lineup vs. UCLA after midweek injury scare

Penn State football will have star running back Nicholas Singleton on Saturday when the Nittany Lions clash with Big Ten newcomer UCLA inside Beaver Stadium.

Singleton’s status was put into doubt earlier in the week after not appearing during the media’s practice viewing window. James Franklin noted that the junior tailback was expected to be ready to play against the 1-3 Bruins.

“No, not at this stage,” Franklin said Wednesday when asked if the issuing holding Nicholas Singleton out of practice would impact his availability. “No [there’s nothing further to share], which I think for 11 years I haven’t told you guys anything. Really, I’d love to talk about that at some point; why you have to ask if I’m not going to answer.”

However, the Shillington, Pennsylvania, native was listed as questionable on the program’s conference-mandated availability report. Singleton will not be returning kicks on Saturday; Omari Evans will do so in his place.

Nicholas Singleton and fellow running back Kaytron Allen recently joined Lydell Mitchell and Franco Harris as the only teammates in Penn State football history to each rush for 2,000 yards in their careers. Allen (2,058 career yards) eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark versus Illinois last week, while Singleton (2,221 career yards) did so earlier this season against Bowling Green.

Penn State football gets key Nittany Lions back for UCLA matchup

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Beyond Nicholas Singleton, several key contributors are returning to the lineup for Penn State football after either missing last week’s matchup with the Fighting Illini or being sidelined mid-game.

Starting linebacker Dom DeLuca is back after being injured two weeks ago against Kent State. The Nittany Lions also return starting offensive lineman Sal Wormley and cornerback Jalen Kimber after exiting last week’s primetime matchup. All three were absent from Saturday morning’s availability report, along with JB Nelson, who exited last week after replacing the injured Wormley.

Just announced inside Beaver Stadium, the anticipated starting lineup for Saturday’s game is as follows:

Offense

QB: Drew Allar

RB: Nicholas Singleton (Kaytron Allen also announced as a starter)

WR: Harrison Wallace III, Julian Fleming, Liam Clifford

TE: Tyler Warren

LT: Drew Shelton

LG: Vega Ioane 

C: Nick Dawkins

RG: Sal Wormley

RT: Anthony Donkoh

Defense

DE: Dani Dennis-Sutton, Abdul Carter

DT: Zane Durant, Dvon J-Thomas

LB: Tony Rojas, Kobe King, Dom DeLuca

CB: Jalen Kimber, AJ Harris (Cam Miller also announced as a starter)

S: Jaylen Reed, Zakee Wheatley 

Special Teams

K: Ryan Barker (placekicker), Gabe Nwosu (kickoffs)

P: Riley Thompson

LS: Tyler Duzansky

KR: Omari Evans

PR: Zion Tracy

Kickoff between Penn State football and UCLA is officially set for 12:06 p.m. on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.

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