CFB Zeitgeist Score
68
Solid starter in the position cohort. Carried by rush tds at the 95th percentile.
Nicholas Singleton
The Hope Economyas of 2026-06-22
Nicholas Singleton carries five-star expectation into Penn State's season — promise, not yet proof.
549RUSH YDS13RUSH TD123CARRIES
PERCEPTION ABOVE TAPE · PCTL GAP
-42
perception vs production percentile · 2025
Penn State fans sell the ceiling harder than the résumé; the upside is the whole argument.
medium confidence2 sources
All ceiling, for now — a 95th-percentile bet riding on a 53rd-percentile résumé. The hope is the whole position.
Read the story so far
AI narrative · updated 2026-06-22 · compiled from CFB Zeitgeist data
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Tennessee2026 NFL rookie season
#165Rd 5 · Pick 25
Tennessee2026 NFL rookie season
RB · PENN STATE · BIG TEN
Nicholas Singleton
- 4
- #10
- 6-0 | 224 lb
- Shillington, PA
Heisman Heat
#1104
<1% win probability
Fan Belief
Awaiting
Player-specific FI not yet ingested. Falls back to team mood below.
Respect Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
Reality Gap
Awaiting
Coming online with player-level FI.
ACCOLADE PROBABILITY
Heisman
<1%
TOP RB AWARD
Doak Walker
—
CONSENSUS
All-American
—
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 2 · StarterR07 · Impact starter
Impact starter. Producing measurable value above replacement.
Not on team2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career arc · Season-by-season Standing
3 seasons on the ladder
★
2022
Penn State · RB
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
2023
Penn State · RB
R09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
Recognized
2025
Penn State · RB
—
NFL Draft 2026 · Rd 5, Pick 25 · #165 overall · Tennessee
Development Trajectory · rushing yards
2022–2025-48%
Sharp dropoff (-48%) — career inflection point.
Career Arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★★
CFB
College
Penn State
NFL
NFL Draft
R5 · #165
Identity & Role
The durable bio layer: position, size, hometown, and roster role.
Recruiting Pedigree
How big the prospect was before college, and whether the later career arc beat that expectation.
| Class | Profile | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5-star | 0.9860 | No. 31 recruit | HighSchool | Penn State |
Transfer Arc
Portal movement changes role, context, and perception. This keeps that path in one place.
| Season | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|
| No transfer portal moves on file for this player. | ||
Heisman Lens · 2024 Season · Final
Where the player landed at the end of the listed season — final nowcast rank, win/finalist/ballot probabilities, and the cleanest official Heisman placement on file.
HIGH CONFIDENCE· through week 16Heisman Futures
Not yet listed on major futures markets.
No achievements unlocked yet this season.
Selector Grid · 2025
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Selector recognition fills in once the major honors lists (AP, FWAA, AFCA, Walter Camp, Sporting News, SI) are scraped and ingested.
NIL · Recruiting · NFL Draft
Market value, pedigree & pro outcome
Recruit stars
★★★★★
to Penn State
Composite
0.9860
#31 national
NFL Draft
2026 · Rd 5, Pick 25
#165 overall · Tennessee
Today’s Hot-Take
The Hot-Take engine fires when this player’s percentile profile crosses a defensible threshold (top 10% in a cohort, 100+ snap sample). When it’s quiet, the model is honoring its “must be defensible” rule.
Anti-Take
PENDINGThe contrarian read fires when the rules-engine detects a stat that complicates the Hot-Take. Quiet here means the model hasn’t found a defensible counter yet — not that one doesn’t exist.
The Room on Nicholas Singleton
Fan sentiment ·
Belief Meter
65
Mixed Sentiment
Top Take
“”
Trajectory
Per-cohort trajectory lands when historical bucket data is aggregated.
Cohort divergence map
- Own fans · n=34
- National · n=2
Rival Radar
How rival fanbases talk about Nicholas Singleton
No rival-bucket mentions in the current season.
2025 Signature · 2025 season
Receiving TDs
1
count
All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions
National rank #402 of 531
Percentile vs All FBS WRs, min 20 receptions 24th
Why it matters
#402 of 531 All FBS WRs in receiving TDs — 1 TDs on 24 receptions.
Vs cohort
This player 1 (24th)
MODERATE · n=24 cohort 531
- Also strong
- Yards per reception#460 / 531
- Receiving yards (total)#482 / 531
Signature Moment
Week 11 vs Indiana — 1 receiving_tds
Result L 24-27
The week the volume broke through — stacked 1 td vs Indiana.
Season Pace · Projection
Where the rushing totals stand
Through 12g
549Rush yards
123Carries
13Rush TDs
Per game
45.8Rush yards
10Carries
1Rush TDs
Projected (13g)
594.8Rush yards
133Carries
14Rush TDs
To hit 750-yard season (currently 549): needs 201/game over remaining 1.
To hit 1,000-yard season (currently 549): needs 451/game over remaining 1.
To hit 1,500-yard season (currently 549): needs 951/game over remaining 1.
✓ Hit 10 rushing TDs · finished with 13.
To hit 15 rushing TDs (currently 13): needs 2/game over remaining 1.
To hit 20 rushing TDs (currently 13): needs 7/game over remaining 1.
Why the honors trail matters
The fast read on the thing that makes this player more than a generic stat line.
The useful clue on this card is not just the Heisman rank, but the broader honors spine. Nicholas Singleton already has 2 loaded recognition items, which helps distinguish a player who is merely productive from one who is already earning selector-level validation.
2025 Season · Final
Traditional stats first. Advanced context underneath.
Last season
RB season snapshot
2025 season snapshot | final
2025 season snapshot | finalData: CFBD player stats + local Heisman modelPeer context: same position + same level
Player identity What kind of player is this?
30-second read
What kind of player is this?
Passing-game back against FBS RB peers.
2025 Season · Final
2025 season snapshot | final
Rushing
CAR
123 85th
YDS
549 81st
YPC
4.5 48th
TD
13 98th
Receiving
REC
24 90th
YDS
219 93rd
YPR
9.1 72nd
TD
1 89th
Game Log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 46-11vs Nevada | 8 | 19 | 2.4 | 2 | 6 | |
| Wk 2 | W 34-0vs Florida International | 13 | 76 | 5.8 | 1 | 16 | |
| Wk 3 | W 52-6vs Villanova | 20 | 84 | 4.2 | 2 | 14 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-30vs Oregon | 11 | 21 | 1.9 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 6 | L 37-42@ UCLA | 11 | 39 | 3.5 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-22vs Northwestern | 7 | 20 | 2.9 | 1 | 7 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-25@ Iowa | 6 | 15 | 2.5 | 0 | 5 | |
| Wk 10 | L 14-38@ Ohio State | 6 | 18 | 3.0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 11 | L 24-27vs Indiana | 10 | 71 | 7.1 | 2 | 59 | |
| Wk 12 | W 28-10@ Michigan State | 15 | 56 | 3.7 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 13 | W 37-10vs Nebraska | 7 | 44 | 6.3 | 2 | 14 | |
| Wk 14 | W 40-36@ Rutgers | 9 | 86 | 9.6 | 2 | 53 | Season-high 86 yds |
| Total | 123 | 549 | 4.4 | 13 | 59 |
Season-by-season tables Career rows + per-season box score
Traditional history
Traditional Stats
Season rows up top, career context at the bottom.
Season context · Team result + system
2022Penn State11-2HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning
2023Penn State10-3HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning
2025Penn State7-6HC: James Franklin · Run-leaning
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Penn State | 123 | 549 | 4.5 | 13 | -- |
| 2023 | Penn State | 171 | 752 | 4.4 | 8 | -- |
| 2022 | Penn State | 155 | 1,052 | 6.8 | 12 | -- |
| Career | 3 loaded seasons | 449 | 2,353 | 5.2 | 33 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Penn State | 24 | 219 | 9.1 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Penn State | 26 | 308 | 11.8 | 2 | -- |
| 2022 | Penn State | 11 | 85 | 7.7 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 3 loaded seasons | 61 | 612 | 10.0 | 4 | -- |
Advanced layer Usage, value, and context
Advanced metrics second
Advanced Metrics
Usage, value, and opponent-adjusted context.
Opponent-adjusted rushing value. It helps separate empty volume from carries that actually move the scoreboard.
How much of the team's offense flows through this back once rushing work and receiving work are combined.
Every percentile is compared against players at the same position and level, so an FBS quarterback is judged against FBS quarterbacks, not the whole sport.
The top tables stick to the stats fans already know from broadcasts and box scores. Advanced context is pushed underneath instead of replacing the basics.
Open full stat explorer
| Group | Metric | Value | Rank | Pct | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing | Rushing yards | 549 | #142/735 | 81st pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rush TD | 13 | #16/739 | 98th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Yards / carry | 4.5 | #383/735 | 48th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receptions | 24 | #55/552 | 90th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving yards | 219 | #41/548 | 93rd pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Value | Rushing WEPA | +0.14 | #141/362 | 61st pct | Opponent-adjusted rushing value | 101 weighted playsvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Role share | 20.4% | #87/738 | 88th pct | Share of team offensevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Carries | 123 | #110/739 | 85th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Rushing | Rushing LONG | 59 | #108/733 | 85th pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving LONG | 50 | #46/540 | 92nd pct | Metricvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Yards / catch | 9.1 | #157/548 | 72nd pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Receiving | Receiving TD | 1 | #60/552 | 89th pct | Scoringvs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick return yards | 145 | #47/200 | 77th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick return avg | 20.7 | #70/199 | 65th pct | Efficiencyvs FBS RB |
| Returns | Kick returns | 7 | #44/206 | 79th pct | Volumevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Rush share | 28.2% | #142/738 | 81st pct | Ground-game usagevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 2nd-down usage | 22.9% | #67/738 | 91st pct | Middle-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Passing-down usage | 20.6% | #19/738 | 98th pct | Known-passing sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | Standard-down usage | 20.3% | #122/738 | 84th pct | Base-situation sharevs FBS RB |
| Usage | 1st-down usage | 19.7% | #148/738 | 80th pct | Early-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | 3rd-down usage | 16.2% | #58/738 | 92nd pct | Money-down loadvs FBS RB |
| Usage | Pass share | 10.5% | #23/738 | 97th pct | Air-game usagevs FBS RB |
Player Standing
Universal 17-step ladder. Tier pills below; accolade streams nested.
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION
On-team2-deepStartingRecognizedEliteApex
AWAITING CLASSIFICATION · Rung None of 16
Why he’s here
Standing classification populates when honors, Heisman, and roster signals all align.
What moves him up
What moves him down
Accolade streams
Status—Awaiting tracker
Heisman model tracks the top FBS contenders weekly; this player hasn't entered the watch list yet.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 47.9 | 4.4 | 1.4 |
| Road5g | 42.8 | 4.5 | 0.6 |
Win vs Loss
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins6g | 60.8 | 5.3 | 1.5 |
| Losses6g | 30.7 | 3.5 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 43.2 | 3.4 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 48.3 | 5.4 | 1.2 |
Pocket and defense-quality (clean vs. pressure) splits are coming soon.
Savant · Box-rate percentiles
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
68Solid starter
Elite: rush tds (95th). Strength: rec yards (88th).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Advanced Savant · RB · 2024
Percentile Card
Advanced opponent-adjusted percentile bars are coming soon for this player.
P4G5All FBS
Advanced Savant
Opponent-adjusted advanced metrics with a cohort filter.
wepa_rushing0.14Mid (p50–p75) (n=178)
Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match
Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile
Nicholas SingletonPenn StateAdam RandallClemson· 85% simTJ HardenSMU· 82% simDean ConnorsHouston· 82% sim
Rush TDs
Rec yards
Receptions
Long run
Carries
Rush yards
Yards / carry
Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.
Player DNA
The Power Back
Short-yardage and goal-line specialist. Carries the load, owns the red zone.
RB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Thad Franklin’s 2022 season.
Thad Franklin
65%match
#2
CJ Donaldson
65%
#3
Keyvone Lee
63%
#4
John Emery Jr.
62%
#5
Kevin Perkins
57%
Matches Thad on
Yards / carry
Weight
Height
Differs from Thad on
Receiving share (higher)
Total rush EPA (college ability) (higher)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to CJ Donaldson's senior season at Ohio State (2025).
CJ Donaldson
72%match
#2
Dylan McDuffie
All-MAC
61%
#3
Adam Randall
NFL Rd 5
63%
#4
LJ Johnson Jr.
63%
#5
Elijah Gilliam
63%
Matches CJ on
Receiving share
EPA / carry (adj)
Weight
Differs from CJ on
Yards / reception (higher)
Height (lower)
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
42.0%
339 pass / 469 run
Plays / game
62.2
13 games
OL sack rate (allowed)
7.4%
230 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Coaching Lineage · 2022–2025
1 coach2022
James Franklin
Penn State
2023
James Franklin
Penn State
2025
James Franklin
Penn State
Played his entire career under James Franklin.
Bio · Recruiting · Transfer · Roster
Off-field context — switch tabs to drill into recruit profile, transfer arc, or roster timeline.
HometownShillington, PA
Height6'0"
Weight224 lb
Class4
PositionRB
Jersey10
No fields populated yet.
No fields populated yet.
Current teamPenn State
ConferenceBig Ten
Joined2025
Career arc4 season(s)
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🎖
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2023)
All-Big Ten
Trophy Case · Detail
Every honor on the ledger, broken out by stream and selector.
2 all-conference honors
Conference-level recognition helps anchor whether a player is merely statistically loud or actually viewed as elite within his competitive lane.
Honors Timeline
Season-end distinction and week-by-week recognition on one timeline.
| Season | Honor | Scope | Team / Selector | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | All-Big Ten | all_conference | Penn State | Big Ten | RB |
| 2022 | All-Big Ten | all_conference | Penn State | Big Ten | RB |
Heisman By Year
Modeled rank and official finish by season.
| Season | Team | Role | Latest Model | Forecast | Win | Finalist | Official Finish | Points | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Penn State | RB4 | #1104 | #809 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W16 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2023 | Penn State | RB4 | #85 | #76 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W19 snapshot | Big Ten |
| 2022 | Penn State | RB4 | #92 | #91 | 0.0% | 0.0% | -- | -- | W20 snapshot | Big Ten |
Roster Timeline
Team, conference, and class by season.
| Season | Team | Conference | Pos | Class | Bio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Penn State | Big Ten | RB | 4 | No. 10 | 6-0 | 224 lb | Shillington, PA |
| 2024 | Penn State | Big Ten | RB | 4 | No. 10 | 6-0 | 224 lb | Shillington, PA |
| 2023 | Penn State | Big Ten | RB | 4 | No. 10 | 6-0 | 224 lb | Shillington, PA |
| 2022 | Penn State | Big Ten | RB | 4 | No. 10 | 6-0 | 224 lb | Shillington, PA |