Stamps rookie stays a step ahead
Good things happen when Calgary linebacker Singleton doubles as a fortune teller
Scott Mitchell
CALGARY — When the Calgary Stampeders drafted Alex Singleton, they knew they were getting a unique player.
They had no idea Singleton’s newfound Canadian citizenship that allowed CFL Draft day to happen for the California native in the first place also came along with a crystal ball.
Seriously, the 22-year-old has been seeing the future lately.
For two straight games now, the anecdotes prove it.
Two weeks ago in Ottawa, Singleton took a bad penalty for a late hit on Redblacks quarterback Trevor Harris and then told his defensive co-ordinator, DeVone ClayBrooks, not to worry.
“When he did that, I said, ‘You owe me,’ ” Claybrooks said after the 26-26 tie in the nation’s capital. “And he said, ‘I’ve got you, coach.’ ”
Then, Singleton promptly went out and separated the football from Redblacks running back Nic Grigsby on the goal-line, pulling his team from the brink of defeat.
Making his first career CFL start in Thursday’s 33-18 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Singleton apparently was at it again.
Here’s what quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had to say.
“It was actually really funny,” Mitchell recounted after the game inside the visitors’ locker-room at Investors Group Field.
“Bakari (Grant) fumbled and running on, Singleton says, ‘Hey, man, don’t worry. We’re going to get it back to you in one play,’ and just kind of laughed and joked a little bit. Two plays later, they get the ball back and he’s like, ‘My bad, the second play. It should have been the first, though.’ ”
It was one of four turnovers the Calgary defence forced on the night.
Even Claybrooks is starting to wonder.
“If that’s the case, he better give me the Lotto 6/49 numbers,” Claybrooks said. “Shoot, what’s he doing holding back?”
So, swami Singleton, what’s the deal?
“I don’t have any voodoo, and all them with their Pokemon moves, I don’t have any secret balls pulling the football out,” Singleton said with a grin.
“I haven’t won any lottery and I’m awful at gambling. As long as it works on the football field, that works for me.”
While Singleton didn’t exactly dominate the stat sheet in his debut — he made two tackles, one of them a key tackle for a loss — Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson was pleased with the rookie’s work in lieu of starter Taylor Reed, who could be ready to return from an ankle injury when the Stamps clash with the B.C. Lions on Friday at McMahon Stadium.
“I thought he was solid,” Dickenson said. “I thought our linebackers as a whole played pretty well. There’s always some cleaning up on zone drops and all that, but he doesn’t look out of place. He runs around and makes plays and he’s a smart player, so he certainly got a passing grade.”
It was by far the busiest Singleton has been in his young CFL career.
“Definitely going from maybe 14 plays in a practice to 68 defensive plays in a game and tackling, it picks it up a little bit,” Singleton said.
While the on-field predictions Singleton has been nailing lately may not be due to psychic powers, they sure show the confidence he carries.
“I just believe in myself and our defence to make plays, especially in situations when we’ve got to give the ball back to the offence and we need to make a play,” Singleton said.
Claybrooks gave Singleton’s first start a similar grade to the head coach.
He passed, but the test wasn’t completely aced.
“All in all, he played well and lined us up,” Claybrooks said. “He had a few busts here and there, where he tends to over-think things, and that’s what you get when you get really smart players, they tend to over-analyze, but we’re trying to clean it up and that was his first real extensive action. It’s a building process and he’s heading in the right direction.”