Hello: Drew Singleton

Singleton already has experience playing in the Big House. [Patrick Barron]

This is the first tab I opened when preparing this post:

Paramus (N.J.) Catholic 2017 linebacker Drew Singleton is a “no doubt” prospect when his time comes, according to his head coach Chris Partridge.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Singleton played as a freshman in a run to a state championship last fall, and will blossom this fall as a starter.

“He’s special,” Partridge said. “He’s a freak.”

Chris Partridge would move on to Michigan, where he's now the linebackers coach, after Drew Singleton's sophomore season. This evening, Singleton announced that he'll once again be Partridge's pupil, choosing Michigan over Clemson, Michigan State, and a host of top-tier offers. Even though Singleton missed the vast majority of his senior season with an ACL tear, his rankings suggest he's still regarded as a "no doubt" prospect.

Here's his video announcement:

Singleton is the 26th commit in the class and the sixth to join in the last nine days, following Tarik Black, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cesar Ruiz, Deron Irving-Bey, and Jordan Anthony.

GURU RATINGS

Singleton has maintained a lofty standing in the rankings despite missing the majority of his senior season. Only ESPN has him outside the top 100 overall; they ranked him 201st in their initial release and had him as high as #125 in their April update. Encouragingly, the site that has by far the most scouting available on Singleton, Rivals, is the one that ranks him the highest; he made it as high as #33 overall in their rankings before sliding back while sidelined with the knee injury.

There's a tighter consensus on Singleton's size: he's listed at 6'2" and 214-218 pounds on each of the four sites. He'll probably be a WILL at Michigan, though he's got the range and coverage ability to potentially play SAM.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and more.]

SCOUTING

Let's go back to that Partridge article for a moment:

“He’ll run, cover in man, come off the edge and blitz, be physical,” Partridge said. “Great kid, will run through a wall for you. He’s still a baby and I forget because he has the body type of a senior.”

Even at that early stage, Singleton had built up an excellent reputation in recruiting circles. Scout's Brian Dohn called him "sensational" after seeing Paramus Catholic scrimmage a talented Timber Creek squad prior to his sophomore season. The following spring, Adam Friedman named him one of the top underclassmen at a loaded RCS New Jersey camp:

Singleton runs very well in the open field for a player his size. He has a burst that helped him limit the amount of separation the running backs and tight ends could create during one-on-ones. Singleton was also very physical with the tight ends as they came out of their stance.

Friedman and Mike Farrell said Singleton "played like a madman" in PC's win against powerhouse Baltimore Gilman early in his junior season, later saying he was the player who most raised his stock from early-season games in the mid-Atlantic region:

Singleton was all over the field. The Rivals250 prospect was fast to the ball and was very physical. Singleton also has a great motor. On one play, Singleton missed a tackle near the line of scrimmage but got up and chased the runner 30 yards before making the tackle.

Scout's Scott Kennedy evaluated Singleton's game against Eastern Christian Academy (yes, the Freddy Canteen/Brandon Watson program) and was similarly impressed:

At 6'2 and 215 pounds, Singleton packs a punch when he arrives at the ball carrier. He is an instinctive player who times his delayed blitzes well and reads the play when he drops into coverage. He's as comfortable in traffic as he is in open space. He's got the frame of an outside linebacker and the instincts of an inside linebacker.

After the season, Rivals shot Singleton up from #144 overall all the way to #33 because of the strides he made with his football IQ:

Singleton's mental game improved by leaps and bounds this season. He's always had the strength and speed necessary to be a highly rated prospect but he is now much better at anticipating plays, which helps him make momentum-swinging plays.

Friedman also called Singleton"an asset in pass coverage," "a punishing hitter," and "a quarterback's nightmare as a blitzer" following his junior year. NJVarsity said he's "the complete package at linebacker" in naming him the top 2017 prospect in the state in April. His coverage skills once again stood out at this year's RCS New Jersey:

Singleton did not take a lot of reps but when the physically impressive linebacker was out there, he stopped everything. The four-star had 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 linebackers in the country.

At the Opening finals, Scout's Brian Dohn also came away praising Singleton's pass defense (more in the above video):

On the field, the Paramus (N.J.) Catholic outside linebacker closes on the ball well and, while limited in a 7-on-7, is physical.

He was smooth in transitioning into pass coverage and his footwork was clean. He had the speed to cover running backs down the field, and the No. 3 outside linebacker demonstarted his ability to get into the flat and pickup the running back quickly.

Singleton had a couple picks in an otherwise quiet performance at the Rivals Five-Star Challenge, per Mike Farrell. Quiet isn't necessarily bad for a linebacker in a 7-on-7 setting, which doesn't play to a LBs strengths. Following the summer camp season, Scout moved Singleton up from #82 to #67, and they've kept him in that range since.

We had a full squad—Adam, Dave, and Patrick—at the Paramus Catholic-St. Frances game at Michigan Stadium in September. The video is above, and here's Adam's conclusion to his scouting report, which I suggest you read in full:

He played Will almost exclusively, and that’s where I think he fits in college as well. He can take a zone when asked to, but his strong suit is reacting quickly to what’s in front of him and using his athleticism to get to the right spot; this athleticism and football IQ allows him to get away with not having perfect technique. Singleton seems like an especially nice fit in a Don Brown defense, where his aptitude for both diagnosing plays and using his speed to blitz like the wind would be called upon often.

That would be Singleton's final high school game; it was revealed the next week that he had a torn ACL that may have stemmed from a track & field injury that spring. It sure seems like he played the first two games of the year on a structurally unsound knee.

Paramus Catholic still made the state title game as Singleton rehabbed and continued to serve the team as a captain and de facto student assistant:

“I have such love for my team I’d never leave them,” Singleton told USA TODAY High School Sports last month. “I’ve been at practice helping coach up the linebackers, helping make sure things run smooth like I never left. I’m a warrior. I never give up, and my work ethic is second to none, no matter what I’m doing.”

Singleton led his team onto the field; he was inserted for what would've been the final snap of his high school career at the very end of PC's 33-28 victory over St. Peter's Prep but time ran out. Singleton was unfazed:

NOO ONE CARES IM STILL A STATE CHAMP https://t.co/uUsHmQ5qx0

— Drewski (@_DrewSingleton) December 3, 2016

It's hard not to like this kid.

ESPN's final evaluation points to why Singleton is probably best-suited for WILL:

Very quick to read his keys and diagnose run/pass. Shows a good nose for football and takes direct pursuit angles. Disciplined when freed up but can lose gap control when reached. More adept at slipping inside or scraping over blocks in lateral pursuit than stacking and shedding downhill. Displays good burst off-tackle and will track down backs before they turn up-field.

Shows a good feel for coverage, reading the QB's eyes and undercutting passes in his zone. Athletic enough to match up with backs and TEs. Shows good timing as a blitzer and the quickness and acceleration to get through smaller creases on fly.

Playing WILL should allow Singleton to still make plays between the tackles without exposing him to as many second-level blockers and also plays to his strengths as a blitzer; Mike McCray flourished in that role this season and while Singleton isn't as big, he's quicker/faster and projects to be better in coverage.

OFFERS

Singleton has amassed quite an offer sheet that includes Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Miami (YTM), Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, among several others.

HIGH SCHOOL

Michigan has turned Paramus Catholic into their primary New Jersey pipeline, going so far as to play host for that St. Frances game this fall. The Wolverines have added linebackers coach Chris Partridge, Jabrill Peppers, Juwann Bushell-Beatty, and Rashan Gary from the program over the last few years. The coaches have shown interest in a few class of 2018 Paladins—CB Jarrett Paul, ILB Bartek Rybka, and ATH Ray Minneci—but haven't offered any of them yet.

STATS

Singleton's junior stats are not readily available, unfortunately. There are full sophomore stats on MaxPreps: that season Anthony compiled 57 tackles, seven TFLs, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two interceptions, and two pass breakups.

FAKE 40 TIME

ESPN lists a SPARQ-verified 40 time of 4.86 seconds, which gets zero FAKEs out of five. Singleton's short-area quickness is more impressive than his straight-line speed; his 4.18 shuttle time is only six-hundreths of a second off the best mark among 2016 inside linebackers.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

A few camp reps from this spring's RCS New Jersey:

Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

In Singleton, Josh Ross, and Jordan Anthony, Michigan has now compiled a complete set of linebackers in the class, and I could easily see those three eventually filling the starting linebacker spots: Ross, the burliest, at MIKE; Anthony, the best in space, at SAM; and Singleton, the best blitzer and arguably the most talented and well-rounded of the bunch, at WILL. If Willie Gay joins the class, he'll provide competition at both outside linebacker spots—he's another sideline-to-sideline terror.

While Singleton seems well on his way to recovering from the ACL injury, the rust from being sidelined for the better part of a year—and the presence of Ross, Anthony, and maybe Gay—may prevent him from making the two-deep as a freshman. When McCray graduates after the 2017 season and a starting spot opens up, however, Singleton will be right in the mix and perhaps even the favorite to win it.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Singleton is the 26th commit in the class and the third who projects to linebacker, joining Ross and Anthony. (We expect three-star CT ILB Ben Mason to play fullback at Michigan.) Brian covered the current numbers outlook in a recent roundup:

We've been projecting a 32-man class since the season started, but that might be difficult to pull off without some weird guys showing up. Michigan has 24 commits. We have 12 guys listed in "top group" or "leader" on the recruiting board, and we're not sure if IA WR Oliver Martin and FL OG Tedarrell Slaton are takes right now. Let's assume Michigan holds out for AL WR Nico Collins, leading Martin to commit elsewhere, and Slaton's testing doesn't go sufficiently well to get Michigan back in the game; let us further assume that both of those upcoming LB announcements go well. [Ed-Ace: Yup.]

To hit 32 without going off the board Michigan would have to get six of the following eight recruits: [Najee] Harris, Collins, TX OT Chuck Filiaga, VA OT Mekhi Becton, UT DT Jay Tufele, AL DT Aubrey Solomon, MS LB Willie Gay, and CA CB Elijah Hicks. And that's without any decommits.

Possible. Maybe not probable, and with Michigan's board so restricted right now it's hard to see where a potential hole gets filled.

There are a handful of prospects who aren't on that list who could conceivably wind up in the class—Brian listed some in the original post—but the recruiting board is pretty clear for the most part. Out-of-nowhere additions would be especially out-of-nowhere this year.

After Singleton's addition, Michigan remains in fourth place in the composite team rankings, only a handful of points behind #3 Georgia. Alabama and Ohio State are near-locks to finish in the first two spots.

Here's the class as it currently stands: