FIU Panthers receiver Bryce Singleton is dedicating his season to the late Aubrey Hill
It had been 22 months and 23 days since Bryce Singleton had scored a touchdown.
But then, in FIU’s Sept. 26 season opener at Liberty, Singleton cut back inside on a post pattern that became a 45-yard touchdown reception from redshirt freshman quarterback Stone Norton.
“I leaned outside to make [the defensive back] bite,” said Singleton, a redshirt junior who missed all of last season because of a leg injury. “It happened to work.
“It was a great throw. [Norton] got pressured, but he couldn’t have put the ball in a better spot.”
After he scored, Singleton chest-bumped fellow FIU wide receiver JJ Holloman before pointing to the sky. Singleton said that gesture, in part, was to thank God.
But it was also a tribute to Aubrey Hill, his former FIU position coach who passed away on August 16, losing his fight against cancer at age 48.
Singleton, a native of Hilton Head, South Carolina, said he saw Hill as his father away from home.
“[Hill] always showed me he cared,” Singleton said. “He was that father figure, more than just a coach to me. His family was close to my family.
“His passing really hurt me. It gave me another reason to play for a purpose, and that’s for Coach Hill.”
FIU coach Butch Davis said Singleton was the first player to approach him following Hill’s death. Singleton told Davis he wanted to dedicate this season to Hill, and FIU responded by placing a decal on every helmet with the words: “We family, BOSS!”
That was one of Hill’s catch-phrases, and Singleton hasn’t forgotten, placing cards and other reminders of his coach in various places, including his locker, his car and his room.
“When Coach Hill said we were family, he really meant it,” Singleton said. “I felt it.”
NATURAL ATHLETE
Singleton, the son of Tim and Danielle, grew up in Hilton Head island, South Carolina, playing quarterback for his Gators Pop Warner team, which was coached by his dad. Singleton also played guard in basketball, center field in baseball and was a sprinter in track.
Hilton Head Island High coach BJ Payne, who was a pro WWE wrestler for five years, said Singleton was his junior varsity quarterback as a freshman but decided to play only basketball and baseball as a sophomore.
“He was All-State in basketball,” Payne said. “Leaving football, I think some kids in his shoes make similar decisions. Then they realize there are only 13 scholarships in basketball and 85 in football.”
Singleton apparently came to that realization, visiting Payne in the spring before his junior year.
“Bryce told me, ‘I want to play football. But I’m not playing quarterback. I’m playing wide receiver, and I’m going to have 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns’,” Payne said. “Then he walked out of the gym.”
As Payne noted, Singleton “blew those goals out of the water”, breaking school records with 73 catches for 1,219 yards and 13 touchdowns. Then, as a senior, Singleton scored an astounding 24 touchdowns — one for ever 4.9 touches. He scored 11 touchdowns on the ground, 10 on receptions and three on kick returns, earning All-State honors.
He also played free safety.
“Bryce never came off the field as a senior,” Payne said. “We hitched our wagon to Bryce and let him carry us.”
When it came time to pick a college, Payne said Singleton had more than 20 scholarship offers but took just two official visits — FIU and Cincinnati.
“It was a headache for me,” Singleton said of the recruiting process.
Part of Singleton’s disdain for recruiting was that he didn’t want to miss any basketball games while he was off touring colleges. As a solution, he twice played basketball games on Friday nights and then made the trip to Cincinnati and FIU the next morning.
“He’s the most mature player I’ve coached in 20 years,” Payne said. “He’s extremely respectful, and that’s not BS for a media interview. That’s just how he was raised by his parents.”
FIU ‘ROLLERCOASTER’
Singleton, whose family owns two restaurants on Hilton Head Island, got cookin’ as soon as he arrived at FIU, playing in all 12 games as a true freshman, including four starts.
As a sophomore in 2018, the 5-11, 195-pounder played in just 10 of FIU’s 13 games, with only two starts.
“It was a rollercoaster,” Singleton said.
But at least he finished the ride on a high — he had a career-high 29 receptions for 368 yards, a 12.7 average and two TDs for the year.
Then, in the summer of 2019, Singleton suffered a knee injury while practicing routes 7-on-7. That injury canceled his entire junior season.
“It was the first real injury of my career,” Singleton said. “An injury challenges you, but I want to move on. This is the new me.”
Singleton, 22, said he was cleared for contact in seven months. But then the pandemic happened, and FIU spring practice never got started.
“It was God’s plan,” he said. “It was God telling me I wasn’t ready yet, and I needed a couple more months to prepare for the season.”
Davis is thrilled Singleton has returned to full health for the 2020 season.
“Bryce makes some phenomenal catches,” Davis said. “He’s crafty, and he runs great routes.”
Singleton could perhaps be used on a trick play this year since he does have some throwing talent from his earlier days as a QB.
Catching the ball, though, is still Singleton’s forte, and he gets high marks in that regard.
“He has a knack for separating from defenders, and if the ball is in his radius, he’s going to get it,” Payne said. “He’s also very competitive. If he loses a one-on-one [drill], he’s right back on the line, wanting to go up against the same guy.
“I’ve sent about 60 skill-position players to Division I colleges and some of them, like [ex-Dolphin] Brian Hartline, have gone on to the NFL. But Bryce Singleton is the best skill-position player I’ve ever coached.”