Malachi Singleton has been the backup, the change-of-pace guy, the name in a quarterback battle for three straight seasons at three different Power Four programs. That ends now. Appalachian State has named him the starter for 2026, according to On3's Pete Nakos, capping a long, winding path through the transfer portal that started in the SEC.
Appalachian State has named Malachi Singleton its starting quarterback for the 2026 season, a source tells @On3. The former Arkansas transfer has played in 16 career games with 10 total TDs. Mountaineers play at NC State in Week 4. t.co/RS7cDQNr5X
The résumé is legit. Singleton broke out as a redshirt freshman at Arkansas in 2024, where he backed up Taylen Green but still found a way into the spotlight, scoring the game-winning touchdown run in the Razorbacks' upset of No. 4 Tennessee that fall and earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors for it. He entered the portal that December looking for a bigger role.
He found playing time at Purdue instead of a clear runway. Singleton appeared in 11 of the Boilermakers' 12 games in 2025, throwing for 439 yards with 5 touchdowns against 2 interceptions while adding 202 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Solid, but part of a rotation rather than a locked-in starter. So he hit the portal again.
Now he's at his 3rd school in as many years, and this time the job is his outright. Per Nakos, Singleton has played in 16 career games across Arkansas and Purdue with 10 total touchdowns, a dual-threat résumé that gives App State a proven Power Four arm and legs at the position after an offseason of roster churn in Boone.
App State reportedly tabbed Singleton as one of 3 team captains back in January, a sign the staff had already lined him up as the guy well before fall camp wrapped. The Sun Belt has been App State's to lose in recent years, and getting a settled answer at quarterback instead of another summer-long competition is exactly the kind of stability the program needed.
The first real measuring stick comes fast. The Mountaineers open Week 4 on the road at NC State, a Power Four test that will tell everyone a lot more about what Singleton's game translates to than any depth-chart headline can.