Nick Singleton about to set yet another Governor Mifflin record (updated)
Editor note: This story has been updated and corrected with additional information.
Nick Singleton set all kinds of records during his four seasons at Governor Mifflin.
Now, some five years after getting his last carry with the Mustangs, he’s about to set another.
Singleton is expected to be selected in the NFL Annual Selection Meeting, which commences Thursday, and to be the highest draft pick ever taken from the Shillington school.
The list of Mifflin grads taken in the NFL Draft is a short one. To this point the only others are John Pincavage, an eighth-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1966, and Al Gursky, a 12th-round pick of the New York Giants in 1962. (He was also selected by the Houston Oilers of the fledgling AFL, but signed with the Giants.)
Singleton figures to top those picks. He’s ranked among the top half-dozen running backs on most every pundit’s board and is expected to be taken some time in the fourth or fifth round, according to most projections. The NFL Draft now goes only seven rounds, so if he’s selected he will erase Gursky’s mark.
Singleton did a lot of erasing of records, at Mifflin and more recently Penn State. He finished his Nittany Lions career as the program’s all-time leader with 55 touchdowns and in all-purpose yards with 5,586.
He likely would’ve finished as the program’s all-time rushing leader, too, had it not been for a series of injuries and then a diminished role in his senior season, which he finished with 549 yards and 13 touchdowns. He ended up with 3,461 rushing yards, fourth-most in Penn State history.
Another injury, in January at the Senior Bowl, threw his draft status into limbo. He suffered a broken foot during practice for the all-star game and was not able to compete at the NFL Combine or perform at Penn State’s Pro Day, or for teams at individual workouts.
How much that affected his status won’t be known until the draft unfolds later this week, Thursday through Saturday. We might not ever know for certain.
Despite not being able to run and perform in skills tests during the crucial months leading up to the Draft Singleton’s status remains high. On Mel Kiper’s big board he is ranked as the 121st overall player, which would land him late in the fourth round.
He is the sixth running back on Kiper’s list, behind Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price, Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson, Penn State’s Kaytron Allen, and Arkansas’ Mike Washington.
Of course, each of the NFL’s 32 teams has different needs, different evaluation methods, and different opinions in the draft room. He could be taken higher, or lower, than generally projected.
Singleton’s size, speed and versatility make him an attractive pick despite a drop-off in production his final season.
“They definitely love how I run the ball,” Singleton told reporters at the NFL Combine, “(how I’m) able to catch the ball in the backfield and just be able to go block. So they always love when a complete back can do anything.”
Scouts like his easy acceleration, the power to drag tacklers, his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and his understanding of pass protection duties.
“Singleton is a well-built back with explosive speed whose 2025 season was flat after a strong 2024,” reads a scouting report on NFL.com. “Singleton is a linear runner who plays like his brake lines have been cut, affecting his ability to gather and elude tacklers or cut on demand.
“He has the speed to make defenses pay but displayed a lack of vision and instincts to put himself in position to do so, relative to his teammate Kaytron Allen. His size and speed will get attention, but his ability to return kicks and play on third downs could ultimately earn him a roster spot as a RB3.”
No player is without weaknesses. Among the drawbacks scouts mention are Singleton’s lack of elusiveness and vision in reading lane development.
“For an NFL team looking for a goal-line runner, with a high floor on passing downs, Singleton could be a sneaky option,” according to SI.com. “He is a bigger back who will handle himself well in pass protection, and bring plus speed (4.35 40-yard dash).
“His one lacking skill is patience, which would help his ceiling tremendously in the NFL. If Singleton lands on the correct roster he could be a highly sought-after value running back this summer in fantasy leagues.”
Wherever he lands Singleton will be ready to go when rookie mini camps open following the draft. ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported last week that Singleton is “medically cleared” to practice and “has resumed running.”
Though he couldn’t run at Penn State’s Pro Day last month, Singleton was able to perform in the bench press and showed off his impressive strength, producing 25 reps at 225 pound. According to Fight On State, that number would have ranked second among running backs at the Combine.
During his four seasons at Mifflin Singleton smashed practically every Berks County rushing and scoring record on the books.
He finished with 6,326 career yards, nearly 1,600 more than Iggy Reynoso, who set the county mark in 2017.
His shot at the county single-season mark of 2,403, set by Central Catholic’s David Gilmore, was limited by COVID-19, which trimmed Mifflin’s 2021 season to just eight games. He finished with a Mifflin record 2,059.
Singleton became the first Berks player in more than 80 years to score seven touchdowns in a game, in 2021 vs. Warwick. His 44 TDs that season topped the county mark of 39, set by Jason Reinhart 23 years earlier. His career total of 116 scoring runs topped Reynoso’s mark by 37 TDs.
He broke the Mifflin record for touchdowns in a season with 32 as a sophomore in 2019, then smashed it with 42 as a senior.
Singleton topped 1,000 yards four straight seasons, with 1,274 as a freshman in 2018.
He rushed for 200 or more yards 10 times, with a personal best of with 330 vs. Warwick in a 2021 district playoff opener. The overall single-game record of 352 was set by Dustin Manz in a 2006 playoff game vs. Conestoga Valley.
