Would Coaches Actually Let Singleton Get Tackled for Discovery?

Bobby Petrino dropped interesting nugget about backup quarterback with comparions to great ones he's had in past

Arkansas Razorbacks backup quarterback Malachi Singleton throws a pass during Tuesday morning's practice on the outdoor field in Fayetteville, Ark. / Andy Hodges-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In a football world where quarterbacks are off limits to even be waved at by defenders, offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino's suggestion Tuesday was interesting. Now you just have to wonder if Sam Pittman will let him do it.

It may be the only way he'll get to see all of backup quarterback Malachi Singleton's talents. He doesn't have the same physical tools others have, but when he pulls the ball down and takes off running, that might be one of his strongest assets.

"Sometimes quarterbacks, when you when you don't tackle, once they have to tackle them, they're a heck of a lot better," Petrino said Tuesday morning. "That's with Stefan LeFors at Louisville. Lamar Jackson. We actually put a rule in that when [Lamar] ran, you had to tackle him just so his teammates could see how special he really was."

For Pittman, a coach that worries at times that he's not worrying about something, you just have to wonder if it would ever happen. Since we've never gotten to see Singleton taking a meaningful snap, we'll just have to see if we find out cold. That's what it would be if he doesn't get into a game at some point.

"Malachi’s really coachable and extremely intelligent," Petrino said. "He picks things up quickly. One of the things you want as a coach is to try where it works out where you only have to tell a kid one time, and then they get it. Malachi’s that guy."

Petrino loves that type of thing because it reflects the player's football IQ. Lots of smart people can't play football that well because they really don't understand the game. Apparently Singleton gets it without the coach having to repeat himself.

"You usually only have to tell him one time and he can carry it over to the next day or he can carry over what you coached him to three days from now and do it that way," Petrino said. "It’s a lot of fun when you get a young man like that who can pick things up and adjust and be coachable like that. He knows the offense well and his timing. I think he’s still learning himself as far as throws I can and can’t make. That resulted in a few picks yesterday, but you have to do that as a quarterback."

Singleton seems to be adapting to the demands of Petrino. There have been some legendary stories about that from the quarterbacks he's had in the past.

"His attention to detail in everything, whether in walk-throughs and we have a blitz period and he’s on us even then," Singleton said. "Whether it’s a walk-through, whether it’s full speed, whether it’s indy, whether it’s 11-on-11. He doesn’t miss a rep and that’s what we like as quarterbacks and as an offense. Every single thing we do, because we touch the ball every single play and we have that responsibility, he doens’t shy away from that. He keeps us aware of that every single time."

We don't get much time with Petrino. The quarterbacks do and it's usually an eye-opener.

"If you just have one meeting with him for an hour and a half, two hours, he would really show you just how smart he is," Singleton said. "He knows so much. He’s coached in the NFL, he’s coached in college, so he’s been around so much, worked with so many different quarterbacks. The reps, the knowledge he has, it’s just been great. It’s been out of this world, really."

Now everybody's hoping that pays off for the Razorbacks this year. For an offense that struggled for most of the last two seasons, the fans are desperate to see the scoreboard change a lot. That's the goal for everybody on offense.

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