The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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80 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2017 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY CHRIS BALAS Head coach Dan Sabella inherited a veteran team when he took over at Paramus (N.J.) Catholic this year, including one of the nation's top line- backers in four-star Drew Singleton, Rivals.com's No. 52 senior nationally. Some, however, believed their run of elite success, including state cham- pionships in 2012 and 2013, was more a result of players like former U-M linebacker Jabrill Peppers, the Big Ten's 2016 Defensive Player of the Year, some even went so far as to call the school "Jabrill Catholic." The naysayers picked it up even more when the 6-2, 213-pound Sin- gleton went down during a practice before game two with a season-end- ing ACL tear, only a week after he and his teammates beat Baltimore St. Frances at Michigan Stadium. "That was tough on everybody," Sabella recalled recently in a phone conversation from his office. "I'm sit- ting here in the same seat I was when it was him, his father and the doctor, breaking the news to him that he had a tear and was going to be out for the year." To his credit, Sabella and his squad still won a state championship, al- though they had to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to a 33- 28 win over St. Peter's Prep. Mean- while, Singleton remained a vital part of Paramus Catholic's team while re- habbing diligently. "I told him, 'I know you're going to be doing your therapy and rehab, but we need you here as much as you can be when you're not doing that stuff,'" Sabella recalled. "He said, 'Coach … you can count on that.' "He lived up to it. Just having him around at practice and in the film room, whatever we were doing, was big. He leads by example, and he was just a great example. He served as great inspiration to these guys. You would have never thought he was hurt by the way he acted because he was so into every game, just like he was playing." Sabella would much rather have had him on the field, of course. A 2015 All-USA New Jersey second- team linebacker by USA Today after notching 64 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and three forced fum- bles, Singleton was expected to be even better in 2016 after a tremen- dous offseason. The outside linebacker got off to a great start at The Big House, notching 12 tackles and forcing a fumble in his one and only game of 2016. Though Sabella didn't see much of his star, he saw enough to know the Wolverines are getting something special. "Drew was the leader of this team, on and off the field," he said. "This was my first year here, but I've been around long enough to know that guys like Drew don't come around very often. He just flies around the field, sideline to sideline. He plays the game with a real nasty, physical edge, exactly what you want out of a linebacker. "I say nasty in a complimentary way. He's going to hit you, chase you … be relentless. He just loves the game of football. From the little time I did get to see him, he really was like the quarterback on the defense the way he approached everything." His intensity might be his best at- tribute, the coach added, and Single- ton took it to the rehab room while recovering from his surgery. He was running nearly full speed in early February and just getting ready to start testing it more by cutting on it, Sabella noted, adding his standout should be 100 percent by his fresh- man season at U-M. "The real story of this year was the way he handled it and responded to it after that initial shock and dis- appointment," he said. "He just re- ally turned himself into as much of a player/coach as you can have at the high school level. He was a big influ- ence on these guys." Whether he plays inside, outside or at a hybrid position like former Para- mus Catholic star Peppers, Singleton should be a huge asset as a teammate, the coach added. "Drew is a guy who when he walks into the room he just takes the room over without even trying to do that," Sabella said. "He's just got that kind of personal touch, a kind of guy who you want to be around. He is defi- nitely the type of guy you want in your locker room. "No matter where he plays, the one thing you know you're going to have is a hungry, motivated player who is not going to be satisfied with medioc- rity in whatever he does." ❏ Torn ACL Hasn't Discouraged Linebacker Drew Singleton Singleton is the fourth player from Paramus (N.J.) Catholic to sign with Michigan since 2014, joining offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty, safety/linebacker Jabrill Peppers and defen- sive end Rashan Gary. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM