Arkansas Hires Jemal Singleton As New Running Backs Coach and Special Teams Coordinator

Bret Bielema's coaching staff is full once again with the hire of Jemal Singleton to be the new running backs coach in Fayetteville.

Singleton comes to Arkansas from Oklahoma State, where he'd held the same position since 2011. He's an Air Force man, and was even stationed at the Little Rock Air Force Base from 2001-2003.

His deal is for one year and reportedly worth $310,000.

Our friends at Cowboys Ride For Free described losing Singleton as a "blow to the Cowboys' offensive coaching staff":

Taking over the running backs position prior to the historic 2011 season, Singleton has made somewhat of a name for himself. Last season was a tough year behind a patchwork line, but in 2013 Oklahoma State boasted the 15th best rushing attack in the country.

This from OSU's bio for Singleton:

Singleton's greatest point of emphasis as a coach is ball security, and the Cowboy running backs were spectacular in that area in 2014, as the OSU running backs did not commit a single turnover. Cowboy running backs combined for 509 touches during the season with only one fumble among the group, and that fumble was recovered immediately by OSU.

That would be a nice improvement for Arkansas going forward. Fumbling wasn't a huge issue last season although there were notable exceptions such as Alex Collins' drop that ended the Razorbacks' final drive at Missouri.

Here's more from Arkansas' press release:

In 2013, Oklahoma State rushed for 35 touchdowns in the regular season, ranking second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally. The mark was also the sixth-best in a single season in school history. Desmond Roland rushed for 13 touchdowns, leading all Big 12 running backs and ranking 31st nationally despite not starting until the seventh game of the season.

Singleton served as the position coach for Joseph Randle, one of the most heralded running backs in Oklahoma State history. In 2012, Randle was a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection after leading the Big 12 with 1,417 rushing yards. He went on to be selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

In his first season at Oklahoma State, Singleton helped the Cowboys to one of the best seasons in program history, winning the Big 12, finishing 12-1 and ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press poll. Randle rushed for 24 touchdowns, the fourth-most in FBS that season and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors by the AP. The Cowboys’ running backs totaled 10 games of 100 yards or more.

Singleton joined the Oklahoma State staff after 11 years at Air Force where he was the running backs coach during the final five years of his tenure there. He also served as the run game coordinator from 2007-10. The Falcons led the Mountain West in rushing and ranked in the top 10 nationally each season.

In 2010, Air Force ranked second in the nation with 306.5 rushing yards per game. The team totaled 3,985 rushing yards, which was the second-best total in MWC history at the time. The Falcons also rushed for 41 touchdowns, tying the MWC record.

Singleton tutored Chad Hall in 2007, who was named MWC Offensive Player of the Year and earned third-team All-America honors. Hall rushed for 1,478 yards and totaled 2,683 all-purpose yards, helping Air Force win nine games. Hall played three seasons in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Singleton began his Air Force and coaching career shortly after graduating from the Academy in 1999 with a degree in social sciences. He served as an instructor and assistant head coach/offensive coordinator at the USAFA Prep School in 2000. Singleton was then stationed at Little Rock AFB in Jacksonville, Ark., from January 2001 to January 2003 where he served as a public affairs officer. He returned to the Academy in the spring of 2003 and served as the executive officer for the athletic director before becoming the junior varsity defensive coordinator and varsity assistant coach.