With the first draft pick of his head coaching career, Griz legend Dave Dickenson drafted himself a newly minted Canadian who also happens to be a Bobcat.
Dickenson, who is widely considered the greatest player in both University of Montana and Big Sky Conference history, starred for the Calgary Stampeders in the late 1990s, leading the Canadian Football League team to the 1998 Grey Cup and earning CFL Most Outstanding Player honors in 2000. After a brief stint in the NFL, the Great Falls native and former three-time Big Sky Offensive MVP returned north to play four seasons for the B.C. Lions and another in Calgary in 2008.
By 2011, Dickenson was the Stampeders’ offensive coordinator. Last off-season, he was named the team’s head coach.
Meanwhile in the lower 48, Alex Singleton was making a name for himself de-cleating Big Sky ball carriers as a prolific two-year starter at Montana State. After ranking as one of the Football Championship Subdivision’s leaders in solo tackles and tackles for loss in 2013 and 2014, the first-team All-Big Sky linebacker earned a roster spot with the Seattle Seahawks.
Singleton bounced on and off the active roster before eventually getting cut. He landed with the New England Patriots for a brief time as a practice squad player but ended up on waivers again. He eventually signed with the Minnesota Vikings and spent much of the 2015 season on Mike Zimmer’s practice squad.
During the spring of 2015, Singleton’s agent Bill Lower asked him if he was open to the idea of playing in the CFL. Singleton casually mentioned that his mother, Kim, is actually a native of Toronto. Soon after, Singleton applied for dual citizenship and it was granted in October while he was still with the Vikings.
Last spring, the Ottawa RedBlacks added Singleton to their negotiation list as an American linebacker. In the CFL, half the active roster must be native Canadian and only natives can be drafted. When Singleton was granted his citizenship, his CFL stock quickly rose but he was still under contract with the Vikings.
In late April, everything changed. Minnesota abruptly released Singleton. All of a sudden, there was buzz that the Saskatchewan Roughriders might use the No. 1 overall pick in May’s CFL Draft to select the former Bobcat.
“When I got released by the Vikings randomly, that’s when everything picked up like crazy,” Singleton said a few days before CFL training camps were set to begin. “That’s when the phone started ringing a bunch. That’s when it got fun.”
The Stampeders held the No. 6 pick of the first round. Most experts thought Singleton would go in the first four picks. But four offensive linemen were taken in the first five selections, leaving Singleton still on the board for Dickenson and defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks to snatch up.
“He fell to us and, at that point, you want to take the best athlete available,” Claybrooks told the Calgary Herald on May 10. “Very versatile player that can pretty much bail you out at a lot of positions and is definitely going to be a special teams contributor. It was kind of a no-brainer.
“Being able to draft a player with NFL experience is a rarity. He’s seen a lot of football and been successful and, I think, he’ll be able to excel in the things we like to do.”
During his Pro Day at Montana State in April of 2015, the 6-foot-2, 233-pound Singleton put up excellent numbers, including running 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 4.19 seconds in the short shuttle. Still, he did not have any illusions of being drafted into the NFL. Getting to experience the draft again and hear his name called in the first round was a whole new and exciting experience for the Thousand Oaks, California native.
“It wasn’t like the NFL Draft where there is 20 minutes between every pick,” Singleton said. “There’s like 90 seconds between every pick so it’s like rapid fire. I didn’t even get the call. I saw it on TV first, which was actually kind of cool. Then they called.”
Singleton said he was open to any of the eight CFL cities — the league also has franchise in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Hamilton, Winnipeg and Calgary — but the Alberta-based Stampeders were the closest team to Montana.
“I thought Calgary would be a cool place to go to since it’s so close to Montana,” Singleton said. “I know it’s an easy trip. I was really happy with the way it worked out. I was stoked. I didn’t think I’d fall to sixth, especially when someone traded up. I had talked to Toronto a bunch that day and then they took an offensive lineman. And I ended up in Calgary.”
Singleton bounced between active rosters and practice squads for three NFL contenders during his two falls pursuing a niche in the league. For most of his time in Minnesota, Singleton lived in Marriott hotels — “I racked up a ton of points,” he said with a laugh during an interview at the Sonny Holland spring game at MSU in April.
“It’s something you never get used to,” Singleton said. “It’s stressful, you don’t know where you are going to land next but you hope you do land somewhere else.”
During his time in Minnesota, Singleton spent time learning from Vikings’ veteran linebacker Chad Greenway, a two-time Pro Bowler who will retire following his 11th season with the Vikings. Singleton also got to experience Zimmer’s unique practices — the Vikings were engaging in full contact sessions outdoors in the week leading up to the NFL playoffs. During his time in Seattle, Singleton said All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagener also took him under his wing.
For now, Singleton’s NFL dreams will be on hold. He signed a multi-year contract that ensures he will be with the Stampeders for the foreseeable future. Singleton cannot talk to an NFL team until his CFL contract is complete.
“It’s bittersweet but hopefully I can come back and put better film together,” Singleton said. “I’m just excited to get to play. I’ve done the NFL, played in games. I’m not saying it’s over but I would rather play than just be a body, especially at this point in my career. My drive to play is at an all-time high so it’s more about playing than for who.”
Calgary has been one of the CFL’s top teams the last few seasons. In 2014, former Eastern Washington quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, the 2011 Walter Payton Award winner as the top player in the FCS, led the Stampeders to the Grey Cup title. He earned MVP honors of the championship game.
Last season, the Stampeders went 14-4 and lost in the Western Finals behind another standout year from Mitchell. Now Calgary will forge into the 2016 season with Dickenson at the helm.
Singleton’s girlfriend lives in Missoula so he’s spent plenty of time over the last few years in the Garden City. He said the former Grizzlies quarterback has been “so awesome” during the draft process and adds “he’s by far the most famous guy in Missoula still to this day.”
The Stampeders open with a preseason game against Edmonton on June 11. Singleton is chomping at the bit to get back on the field and contribute.
“I’ve always had that edge to me so I’ve never been down or anything but I’m so excited to go up there and compete and just play,” Singleton said. “Now I get to play in games. Playing on practice squads, it was like, ‘Hey, you are just trying to get the team better.’ It was like a redshirt year. Now it’s time to go out and play for one team, know I’m going to be on one team and go win games for that one team.”
[/restrict]Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.
