FAYETTEVILLE -- Jemal Singleton had an indoctrination of sorts into Arkansas Razorbacks football more than a decade before he joined the program Wednesday as running backs coach and special teams coordinator.
Shortly after graduating from the Air Force Academy, Singleton was stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville from early 2001 to early 2003.
Jemal Singleton glance
POSITION Running backs/special teams coordinator
AGE 39 (Dec. 7, 1975)
BORN Incirlik Air Base, Adana, Turkey
HOMETOWN San Antonio, Texas
FAMILY Wife Jennifer, daughters Morgan and Mallory
ALMA MATERAir Force Academy (Social Sciences, 1999)
PLAYING CAREER Three-year letterman as a running back at the Air Force Academy. Served as co-captain on the 1998 Air Force team that went 12-1 and won the school’s first outright conference title. Honorable mention All-Western Athletic Conference selection as a senior
COACHING CAREER Oklahoma State running backs (2011-14); Air Force graduate assistant (2003-05), running backs (2006) and running game coordinator (2007-10); U.S. Air Force Academy Prep (2000).
"You walk into this state and you're going to feel it, you're going to see it," Singleton said at his introductory news conference Thursday at the Fred Smith Football Center. "When we walked down the street all we saw were Razorbacks. That was definitely a thing that really hit us kind of strong."
Singleton, 39, coached running backs at Oklahoma State the past four years and was at Air Force for eight years prior to that.
The son of an Air Force sergeant, Singleton said he originally planned to be a fighter pilot but the plan changed after a year's introduction to flight training after graduation, partially due to the 10-year military commitment required to complete the Air Force's flight training school at the time.
"I thought if I can't be passionate about it, then I'm not going to do it," Singleton said. "I didn't feel like I could be passionate about flying. I made the decision at that point.
"I really liked flying, I enjoyed flying, but I loved coaching."
Singleton, who is signed on for one year with a salary of $310,000, replaces Joel Thomas, who took a job coaching running backs for the NFL's New Orleans Saints.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said he had a list of about 23 candidates for the opening before a fortuitous meeting with Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun, a member of the NCAA rules committee, who had Singleton on his staff from 2007-10.
"I had asked him about another coach that had previously worked for him, and he looked at me and said, 'You need a running backs coach? ... I've got the guy for you' and he mentioned Jemal," Bielema said. "I was impressed with him the first I read about his bio, then he kind of hurdled past everybody else."
Singleton said he'd had brief meetings prior to Thursday's news conference with the group of running backs he'll inherit, but he was well aware of the 1,000-yard seasons for junior Jonathan Williams and sophomore Alex Collins last season.
"That's a good thing, having some guys that have been to battle and played the game," Singleton said. "It's good when you come in a situation like that and you've got some guys, some bell cows that you can rely on from the get-go, not just from their playing ability but from their ability to lead."
The backs at Oklahoma State had one fumble, which was not lost, in 509 touches last season.
" I think a lot of teams would love to have that," Singleton said. "I'm not going to guarantee the same thing here, but you can understand that is definitely going to be a focus of mine.
"You look at the history of football, you can all remember games that, had it not been for a fumble, the outcome may have been different. I think there was probably a game or two like that here last year. ... As a running backs coach, for me that is the starting point for everything.
"It all starts with taking care of the football. If you don't take care of the football, you don't play."
Bielema said while Singleton will coordinate special teams, defensive line coach Rory Segrest will continue to work with specialists, like the punters, place-kickers, snappers and holders.
Sports on 02/27/2015