The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 81 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE MEASURABLES • At Nike's The Opening Finals in Bea- verton, Ore., in 2016, Singleton ran the 40-yard dash in 4.86 seconds and posted a 4.18-second 20-yard shuttle. He also recorded a vertical jump of 33.8 inches and notched a power throw of 37.0 feet. As a result of that testing, Singleton had a Nike+ Football Rating of 101.19. STATISTICS • As a senior, Singleton played one game, notching 12 tackles and forcing a fumble, before his year was ended by an ACL injury. • During his junior year, Singleton re- corded 64 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles. • His sophomore season, Singleton notched 57 tackles, including seven for loss, two interceptions, two passes de- fensed, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. He returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown. HONORS • Selected second-team USA Today All-USA New Jersey and named to NJ.com's All Non-Public All-State first team as a junior • Member of the MaxPreps 2013 Football Freshman All- American second team. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Attended the Rivals Camp Series New Jersey in 2015 and 2016. • Was invited to the Rivals Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta in 2016. • Was named an Under Armour All-American as a senior but did not play in the game due to injury. RECRUITMENT • Committed Dec. 22, 2016. • Had a top five consisting of Alabama, Clemson, Michigan State, Michigan and Pittsburgh with other offers from Au- burn, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Wisconsin and many more. • Officially visited Michigan (Dec. 10) and Michigan State (Dec. 2). • Linebackers coach Chris Partridge was in charge of Single- ton's recruitment; he is the former head coach at Paramus Catholic. NOTABLE • Born May 28, 1999. • The last time Singleton played in a game was inside Michi- gan Stadium on Sept. 2 before tearing his ACL. • Though Singleton missed most of his final high school season, he was in the game as the clock ran out in Paramus' 33-28 state championship win over St. Peter's Prep. • Singleton is the fourth player from Paramus to sign with Michigan since 2014, joining offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty, safety/linebacker Jabrill Peppers and defensive end Rashan Gary. • His older brother, D.J. Singleton, just finished his junior year of college foot- ball at the University of Northern Iowa. 2017 PROJECTION Singleton has the size, burst and ath- leticism to be a contributor as a true freshman, but it remains to be seen if he'll be back up to full, college-ready speed after a torn ACL. It will be almost a year to the day from when Singleton injured his knee to when Michigan takes the field against Florida in Arlington, Texas. If he is fully healthy he should push for playing time among a young, inexperienced linebacking corps. THEY SAID IT Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst Adam Fried- man: "Michigan is getting a fantastic player — somebody that plays really well in space and is a big-time hitter. He sees the game very well. He's able to read his keys very quickly and flies to the football. He sees running lanes very quickly and fills them, making big-time hits on running backs. "He makes a lot of big-time plays in coverage and made a lot of interceptions during his junior year. He tore that ACL as a senior, but he will be able to play once he hits Michigan's campus and he will be ready to go." Rivals.com West Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney: "Sin- gleton is a physically impressive linebacker. The four-star has no problem turning and running with backs or slot receivers on deep routes, and he closes really well for someone his size. On the hoof, Singleton is one of the best-looking line- backers in the country." Linebackers Coach Chris Partridge: "I have known Drew for six years. He came to Paramus Catholic when I was a coach there. He came in as a freshman and played varsity as a freshman, starting as a sophomore as an outside line- backer. As I left and came to Michigan, he moved inside and played inside linebacker for two years. "Drew is a phenomenal young man. He has a great family, great work ethic and is very, very athletic. He can play inside and outside, and he has great size and can really run. He has worked hard at it and has been student of the game. He is a guy who we are extremely excited about, and he is going to add a lot of athleticism to that linebacker core." DREW SINGLETON LINEBACKER 6-2 • 213 PARAMUS CATHOLIC H.S. UNION, N.J. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 52 4 (OLB) 1 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 93 5 (OLB) 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 100 5 (OLB) 1 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 158 4 (ILB) 5 Singleton played in only one game as a senior due to an ACL injury, but he was a second-team all-state pick as a junior and a MaxPreps second-team Freshman All- American in 2013. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN RIVALS.COM WEST RECRUITING ANALYST ADAM GORNEY "On the hoof, Singleton is one of the best-looking linebackers in the country."