Buffalo Bills rookie running back Devin Singletary was finally given the opportunity to shine as the team’s primary back last Sunday against the Washington Redskins. Singletary shined in the role, rushing for 95 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He also added three catches for 45 receiving yards in the passing game as well.

Devin Singletary earned the nickname ‘Motor’ due to the fact that he never slows down on the football field. His motor was certainly on display against the Redskins, and the rookie tailback might just be getting started.

Singletary was a dominant running back in college

Singletary re-wrote the record books at Florida Atlantic in his three seasons with the program. He had a productive freshman season with 1,021 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 152 carries in 2016. Lane Kiffin was hired as the Florida Atlantic Owls’ head coach that offseason, and under Kiffin, Singletary would become the focal point of the offense.

In 2017, Devin Singletary had a historic sophomore season, racking up an incredible 1,918 rushing yards and 32 rushing touchdowns. Singletary is one of only three players in NCAA history to rush for 32 touchdowns in a season, joining NFL legend Barry Sanders (who had 37 rushing touchdowns with Oklahoma State in 1988) and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball who had 33.

The 5’7” tailback finished up his college career with 1,348 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns in his junior year before declaring for the NFL Draft. He left Florida Atlantic with a school-record of 4,287 rushing yards, and his 66 rushing touchdowns are the sixth-most in NCAA history.

He has fresh legs heading into the second half of the season

Devin Singletary was drafted by the Bills in the third round with the 74^th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He entered the regular season as the primary backup to Buffalo’s starting running back Frank Gore.

Singletary had an impressive debut against the New York Jets with 70 rushing yards on only four attempts and 28 receiving yards on five catches. He rushed for 57 yards and a touchdown on six carries against the New York Giants before leaving that game with a hamstring injury.

The 22-year-old returned in Week 7 on October 20 against the Miami Dolphins and was eased back into action with only seven carries. He had three carries for 19 yards and four catches for 30 yards and a touchdown in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles before being handed the lion’s share of the work last week against Washington.

Through Buffalo’s first eight games, Singletary has only rushed the ball 40 times. For a player that is comfortable with a heavy workload as he showed in college, there will be no restrictions on his usage down the stretch.

The Bills can use an upgrade over Frank Gore

Frank Gore has played well enough this season, but he’s far from the back that he once was. It’s impressive that Gore is still effective at 36 years old, but his 4.1 yards per carry rank 27^th in the NFL. He has only two rushing touchdowns and is virtually non-existent in the passing game with only 12 catches on 16 targets.

Devin Singletary is the younger, more explosive back. Buffalo’s elite defense has helped lead the Bills to an impressive 6-2 start, but the offense could use a spark as it ranks 22^nd in scoring (19.8 points per game) and 23^rd in total yards (336 per game).

‘Motor’ could be that spark.