Penn State running back Nick Singleton goes on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft; who took him?

Penn State running back Nick Singleton has played his entire football career to date in the Keystone State. He will be leaving Pennsylvania, however, to start his NFL career. Tennessee took the Reading native in Round 5 with the No. 165 overall pick on Day 3 of the 2026 Draft. He is the sixth Nittany Lion to be picked in this year’s selection process, which started back on Thursday. He joins Vega Ioane (Round 1 to Baltimore), Drew Allar (3 to Pittsburgh), Drew Shelton (4 to Dallas), Dani Dennis-Sutton (4 to Green Bay), and Zakee Wheatley (5 to Carolina).

It’s not immediately clear at this moment when Singleton will be able to take the field for the first time in the pros. He is recovering from a broken foot that he suffered during the Senior Bowl in January. It caused him to miss workouts at both the NFL Combine and Penn State Pro Day. That, undoubtedly, impacted his draft stock despite how much he put on film during his time in State College.

“It is a little frustrating,” Singleton said at Penn State Pro Day, according to The Daily Collegian. “But at the same time I kept my head down, kept my circle really close, talked to people that I needed to talk to. But I’m feeling better.

“[I tell NFL teams] I’m getting better every day,” Singleton said. “I’m still that same player, run the ball, catch the ball in the backfield, be able to go block, just show them that I’m a complete (running back).”

Singleton was a complete running back during his time in State College. He leaves Penn State as the program’s record holder in total touchdowns (55), rushing touchdowns (45), and all-purpose yards (5,586). In 2022, the running back was the Big Ten freshman of the year. He ended up being a four-time all-conference honoree while sharing the backfield with classmate Kaytron Allen.

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Singleton and Allen will have a story that few, if any, other college football players will have in the portal era. Either could have left Penn State at any point in time to go be the feature back elsewhere. Instead, they stuck together. They are the only Nittany Lion duo to ever both rush for 3,000 yards at the same time.

Singleton put up 3,461 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns as a Lion. His career stat sheet also includes nine receiving touchdowns and a kick return score during his freshman season.