Arkansas quarterback commitment Malachi Singleton said he is locked in with the Razorbacks after his official visit to Fayetteville this weekend.
“The visit went great,” said Singleton, who's expected to enroll at Arkansas in January. “They showed a lot of hospitality. The players showed a lot of love. The coaches showed a lot of love.
“I had a great time. The family had a great time, so it was a great experience.”
Singleton, 6-1, 225 pounds, of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Ga., picked Arkansas over scholarship offers from Central Florida, Georgia, Miami, Louisville, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina State and other programs in April.
He visited Central Florida in October. UCF was a school he heavily considered before committing to Arkansas, but he said he is all Hog.
"Oh yeah, I'm locked in, for sure,” Singleton said.
His uncle Mark Whittemore was a receiver for UCF in the 1990s.
”I had to sit down with my family and just look over everything,” he said of the Knights, “and just pick the right situation for me, so I don't think it was too hard of a decision.”
ESPN rates him a 4-star prospect and the No. 8 dual-threat quarterback in the nation in the 2023 class. If he signs with Arkansas and remains at his current ranking, he would be the highest-rated dual-threat quarterback in the ESPN era.
Singleton completed 166 of 221 passes for 2,316 yards and 24 touchdowns, and rushed for 1,018 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was named Cobb County Offensive Player of the Year as a junior.
As a sophomore, he was the 3-7A Offensive Player of the Year after completing 127 of 193 passes for 1,619 yards and 15 touchdowns, and rushing for 1,091 yards and 17 touchdowns.
He had limited stats as a senior after playing in two games and having foot surgery. He completed 22 of 43 passes for 201 yards and 1 touchdown, and had 197 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 29 attempts.
Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson announced Friday that he plans to return to the Razorbacks for the 2023 season.
“Definitely something I like,” he said. “Experienced guy I can learn from. He's really good and does a lot of great things on the field, so everything I can take into my game, I'm going to do that.”
Singleton shined at the Elite 11 finals, which showcased the top quarterbacks in the nation in Los Angeles in June.
“In the pro session of the Elite 11 the other day, he completed 80% of his passes,” North Cobb coach Shane Queen said after the competition.
As with any offseason, assistant coaches are reported to be linked with other jobs. Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles’ name has popped up as a possibility at South Carolina.
"You know, I'm just trying to trust Coach (Sam) Pittman,” Singleton said. “If he says it's going good then I'm going to just trust what he says. If something does happen, I know Coach Pittman will bring in the right guy, so I'm not too worried about it.”
Arkansas’ recruiting class ranks anywhere from No. 15 to No. 19 nationally and would be the best class Pittman has signed should the current rankings hold.
"I think our class is really good,” Singleton said. “I think it's going to be one of the greats, to be honest. I think we have a lot of good pieces in our class.
”We have a whole group chat where we all talk in there almost every day. We're already close, so that's a good thing."