Nebraska defensive back DeShon Singleton is likely nearing the end of his college football career.

He has spent the past three seasons at Nebraska, appearing in 27 games. But his 2023 campaign was cut short after just five games due to an injury, eliminating the possibility of redshirting and returning for another season. Since the limit on how many games a redshirt player can play is four, Singleton was disqualified for appearing in just one play in a fifth game.

The injury occurred on the first snap against Michigan when Singleton was blocked on a running play. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule suggested that Michigan’s sign-stealing controversy led by the Connor Stallions may have affected the block, as they could have anticipated Singleton’s positioning on the play.

In an effort to secure Singleton another year of eligibility, Rhule appealed to the NCAA, claiming that the Michigan game could eventually be expunged from the record books because of the controversy. Should that happen, Singleton’s total games played would drop to four, making him eligible for a redshirt year. But the NCAA rejected Rhule’s argument.

“Obviously what happened with DeShon is he went to junior college and then came here and played four games, and then one game against Michigan,” Rhule said Monday. “I petitioned the NCAA because everything that happened against Michigan last year seems like there’s some cloak of anything. He got busted on a run play. Did they know it was a run play? Or is that game going to count in a couple of years? So I thought he shouldn’t have been penalized for a play in a game that, in my eyes, wasn’t even a real play, so he didn’t get that year back.”

Although his appeal was unsuccessful, Rhule believes Singleton likely would have gone to the NFL even if he had been able to return to Nebraska for one more season. He has been an anchor in the secondary for a Nebraska defense that has had a very good season.

“I think DeShon would probably have that year and say, ‘Coach, thank you so much, I’m going to take my talents to the next level’ because I think he’s doing a really good job,” Rhule said. “But I wanted Han could academically use that year to finish his degree, so I thought he deserved it, but the NCAA disagreed.

While he didn’t mention the Stallions by name, it’s clear that Rhule has some animosity toward him and Michigan for their sign-stealing scandal that took the football world by storm last season.

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