Drew Singleton (image via TrendsMap)
Redshirt freshman linebacker Drew Singleton has been granted his release to transfer. Singleton came to Michigan in the 2017 class from Paramus (NJ) Catholic, the same school that sent Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary to the Wolverines. Singleton tore his ACL as a senior in high school, and he was not recovered enough to play by his freshman year of college.
I initially gave Singleton a TTB Rating of 83 (LINK), and I didn’t see a reason to change it since he tore his ACL. He entered college with a loaded linebacker class (Singleton, Josh Ross, Jordan Anthony, Ben Mason), which has been whittled down to two now that Singleton is transferring and Mason moved to fullback. Singleton was battling at WILL linebacker this season, but that job has mostly been split between Ross and junior Devin Gil.
Singleton’s career stat line at Michigan:
1 kickoff return for 5 yards
Michigan now has at least 15 scholarships open for the 2019 class (LINK).
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Too bad, as he seemed a promising recruit. Still, he was burried behind players his age, with McGrown even younger. If Singleton sees himself playing on Sundays, getting to a school where he can earn starters reps has to be a priority for him
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Very disappointing to lose a talented and young contributor. M will be OK but still. With only 2 true LB positions it’s inevitable there will be some attrition.
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Well, but how much on-field talent has he actually shown? It’s disappointing that a highly rated recruit hasn’t panned out, but better that a guy like this moves on sooner, rather than taking up a roster spot unproductively for another year or two while everyone keeps hoping for him to break out.
Now if Ross had announced he was leaving the program, THAT would have been a blow.
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He’s a RS freshman. While he’s not on the stardom track, elite programs like OSU/Alabama tend to have high-end backups like this all over their depth chart, not to mention contributing on special teams.
With Bush likely gone Singleton was going to compete for a starting spot and likely be a top backup. Ross and Gil are ahead now, but Singleton had more talent (arguably) than any other returning LB. Two other freshman (eligibility-wise) appear promising (Anthony, McGrone) but both are even more green than Singleton. Furthermore, with Furbush out the door as well, there is room for a SAM contribution too.
LB is not a “problem” but Singleton will be missed for depth and upside.
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Anthony and McGrone are already ahead of Singleton. He was getting no meaningful snaps and wasn’t likely to any time soon. He was a third stringer at best next year. Totally replaceable.
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