WEST LAFAYETTE — New Purdue football quarterback Malachi Singleton wants to win and doesn’t care what he must do to make it happen.

North Cobb High School coach Shane Queen saw everything he needed in a two-game span of Singleton’s junior season. Playing top-ranked Milton in their second game in 2021 — with a national ESPN audience — the North Cobb planned to showcase its budding quarterback prospect’s passing talents.

That strategy fell apart almost immediately.

“We went out the first drive and we felt like, man, we’re going to throw the football,” Queen said. “We had a couple receivers run the wrong routes, offensive linemen jump offsides. And our coordinator said, no, we’re going to go back to running the football.”

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Singleton ran, too — for 224 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-21 upset victory. A week later against Alpharetta, he ran only twice, because he completed 18-of-22 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns.

Those dual-threat abilities prompted multiple programs to reach out to Singleton when the former Arkansas quarterback went into the transfer portal after his freshman season. He chose Purdue, starting a quarterback room restock under new coach Barry Odom. Former UCF quarterback EJ Colson and former Washington State quarterback Evans Chuba also signed up.

New offensive coordinator Josh Henson knows about winning with dual-threat talents, most notably 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at USC. Queen said Singleton dealt with the running quarterback stigma as a prospect. North Cobb always believed in him as a full-service quarterback, though, folding more run-pass options into its offense over time.

“Sometimes we would have three plays called in one,” Queen said. “He’s a very cerebral football player. You tell him once, he gets it.

“That’s what kind of player they’re getting. They’re getting somebody that’s not only competitive and has the mindset that we’re never going to lose a football game, but also one that’s going to play within what the coaches give him, and he’s going to take what the defense gives him.”

North Cobb’s 2021 team finished 10-2 and reached the second round of the Georgia state playoffs. One of Singleton’s top receivers on that team — De’Nylon Morrissette — is Purdue’s only projected returning receiver with multiple touchdown catches last season.

Singleton and Morrissette played together only for that 2021 season. Singleton, though, first started for North Cobb as a freshman when its three-year starter suffered a late-season injury.

His biggest moment thus far as a college quarterback came in similar circumstances. Arkansas starter Taylen Green suffered a fourth-quarter injury with his team trailing 14-10 against then-No. 4 Tennessee on Oct. 6.

Singleton’s entire career to that point consisted of 18 snaps of mop-up duty against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and three against Auburn. He took over in the red zone, but the Razorbacks settled for a field goal to cut the defict to one.

Arkansas went three-and-out on its next two drives with its green quarterback. On the third, Singleton took over at his own 41 with three minutes left and completed three consecutive passes to move back into the red zone. Then he kept it himself on a zone read for a go-ahead 11-yard touchdown run.

Tennessee had allowed him to score in order to get the ball back with as much time as possible, but the Razorbacks defense secured the 19-14 victory. It was the program’s first home win over a top-five opponent in 25 years.

“The last two drives, he was phenomenal,” Arkansas coach Sam Pittman told reporters after the game. “He ran (the offense) very, very well and scored the touchdown to go ahead.

“He’s been here a long time and hasn’t gotten to play. To go in there and score the winning touchdown — with the help of 10 other guys — has to be really fulfilling for him.”

Queen said the North Cobb coaches were excitedly trading text messages while watching the game from their homes that night. Purdue hopes it puts itself in position for similar clutch moments one year after a 1-11 collapse.

Singleton’s competitiveness can be contagious, Queen says. He expects him to challenge teams and hold them accountable. He’ll also willingly take contact at 6-1, 225 pounds — something teammates tend to appreciate in their quarterback.

“What I love about him is, even in high school — and I always explained to college coaches — he didn’t care if we walked out and played the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday night. He always felt like we had a chance to win,” Queen said.

“As a coach, that makes you stand a couple inches taller. You feel the same when your quarterback, the guy who’s making those decisions, goes out there and has that mentality.”

Purdue arguably needs that win-at-all-costs attitude as much as it needs dyanamic quarterback talents. In Singleton, it hopes it found both.

UCLA football has landed its fourth offensive lineman from the 2024-25 transfer portal.

According to multiple reports, former Arkansas offensive lineman Ty’Kieast Crawford has committed to the Bruins.

Crawford is a veteran lineman who spent his last four collegiate seasons with the Razorbacks. He appeared in just one game this past season, but the year prior, he made four starts in nine appearances.

The year before that, Crawford made two starts in 10 games, blocking for an offense that finished the year with 6,128 total yards, the second-most in program history.

In his first year with the program, Crawford played in all 13 games, mostly seeing action on special teams.

He had transferred to Arkansas after spending his first collegiate season at Charlotte, where he made three starts in six contests.

Crawford was a highly regarded recruit from Carthage, Texas. A four-star prospect, Crawford was ranked the No. 36 class of 2020 prospect in the state and the No. 19 offensive tackle in his class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Crawford had announced his entering into the transfer portal on the first day of the winter window, posting the following message on social media:

“First and foremost I want to Thank God because without him none of this would be possible. I’d like to thank Sam Pittman and the rest of the coaching staff for all of the support over the years. To my teammates and brothers the memories we share together will forever be with me and apart of my journey. Thank you to the razorback fanbase for an amazing 3 years at this University with that being said with 1 year of eligibility left I will be placing my name within the transfer portal #LastLap”

Crawford’s commitment to UCLA comes after his recent visit to Westwood.

As he said in the aforementioned post, Crawford has just one year of eligibility left. He joins Courtland Ford, Julian Arnell and Eugene Brooks as UCLA’s offensive line transfer commits so far this offseason.

The Bruins are taking the steps to revamp their offensive line, and landing Crawford is a huge step in that process.

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The Arkansas Razorbacks (11-3, 0-1 SEC) fell back out of the AP College Basketball Top 25 on Monday.

The drop out of the rankings comes after Arkansas split its games last week. The Hogs took a 92-62 win over Oakland to finish the non-conference slate, but were thrashed 76-52 on the road by No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday to open conference play.

The Razorbacks did, however, receive the second-most votes of unranked teams.

This week isn’t much easier for the Hogs, who will face two teams ranked in the Top 25, though the two games come at home. No. 23 Ole Miss comes to Fayetteville on Wednesday and the Hogs will face No. 8 Florida on Saturday.

All told, there are nine SEC teams in the AP Poll: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 8 Florida, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 23 Ole Miss.

According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Razorbacks rank 40th overall (12.5 BPI, 11th in SEC) with a 5.6 offensive and 7.0 defensive rating. Arkansas is projected to finish with an 18.8-12.2 (7.8-10.2 SEC) overall record and it has a 0.2% chance to win the SEC.

Despite the blowout loss on Saturday, Arkansas’ NET ranking actually improved one spot from last Monday. The Razorbacks sit at No. 40, up from No. 43 last week. The Hogs are 1-3 in Quad 1 games, 1-0 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 7-0 in Quad 4.

Here is the full AP Top 25 from Monday: