SANTA CLARA, Calif. — With a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks claimed their second Super Bowl title in franchise history. After starring at Iowa State, J.R. Singleton is a Super Bowl champion, the first Cyclone to win a ring since Landen Akers in 2022.
The Seahawks signed the 6-1, 299 pound nose tackle as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2025. Singleton signed to the practice squad on Aug. 27, 2025. On Thursday (Feb. 12, 2026), the Seahawks signed the Cyclone to a futures contract.
“The season has been a real whirlwind for me,” Singleton said. “Coming to NFL there’s definitely a learning curve and at the beginning it took a while to kind of learn it: the speed, understanding the schemes, the tempos and different situations. I think that was probably the biggest jump. For me, I would say the biggest thing I learned this year in the NFL would probably be patience. Patience but not complacency. I think in the NFL, you just have so many good players and it’s all about opportunity. You have guys with contracts and other things like that. So, you might not get your shot right away. But I mean, there’s beauty in that because you get to learn from some of the best guys to ever do it. So, then, when it is your time and you do get your shot, you can shine.”
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With Super Bowl LX in the rear view mirror, Singleton shares what the week meant to him.
“The week was really good. It was more of a vacation for my parents than me. I was kind of still in the same operation of a game week trying to prep for the game and make sure I had good practices, gave good looks, and things of such. It really warmed my heart to see how much my parents were enjoying it because they sacrificed so much for me to even be on this platform.”
In 34 varsity games for the Warren Township Blue Devils, Singleton tallied 121 total tackles, 44 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, two fumbles forced and one recovered. His head coach, Bryan McNulty, coached at Warren in a pair of stints: from 2007 to 2011 and from 2014 to present.
“Warren Township holds a super duper special place in my heart,” Singleton said. “I could literally walk to school every day when I was a freshman and sophomore, that’s how close I lived to the school. There were some great teachers, some great deans, principals, that showed me love while I was there and helped me not, football wise. I’d say preparing me for the world and helping me grow as a man or really as a young boy back then but now into the young man I am today. I really have a lot of appreciation and love for the town of Gurnee and the high school that I went to.”
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“I go on and on about Coach McNulty and his program. I think my success that I’ve had through college, now going on into the NFL, attributes a lot from my foundation. In high school, we kind of did things like a college ran their program. We had a state-of-the-art weight room for high school and we were in there every day at 6 a.m., going at it before class even started. That’s back when you had eight periods and had to go through the day and get ready for practice right after and things like that. I’d say my best memory with Coach, that’s tough, we got a lot of good memories together. Honestly, my best memory with Coach Mac is probably something more recent. Every now and then, I’ll go back to Warren and watch them play. If I have a bye week, I’ll just go there and sit down with him after the game, eat food with him and just talk and laugh and it’s the best thing ever because, I mean, he just has a special place in my heart and I can’t even put it into words how much Coach Mac and really his whole staff means to me.”
Singleton was a three star defensive lineman coming out of high school. He committed to the Cyclones on July 15, 2019, prior to his senior season. He chose Iowa State over Illinois, Louisville and Michigan State, as well as 10 other schools who offered him.
A four year letterwinner, Singleton appeared in 49 games between 2020 and 2024. He played on teams that reached two Big 12 Championship games and the following four bowl games: PlayStation Fiesta, Cheez-It, AutoZone Liberty and Pop-Tarts.
Over his career, Singleton tallied 75 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks in his career. He also had 15 quarterback hurries and forced three fumbles during his time in Ames.
“I think probably my best memories that I would say being around the players, being around the coaches,” Singleton said. “Iowa State was a really family oriented place and I feel like in today’s world, college football, it’s hard to find. I still talk to all our coaches and all former players to this day. These are guys that are going to be in my way. Going there playing spades with the coaches at the retreat camps. Laughing, joking with my teammates. Guys like Beau Freyler, Enyi Uwazurike, Isaiah Lee, Brock Purdy, TJ Tampa, the list goes on and on. But there’s just so many great guys and so many great memories I have from being at Iowa State. I loved it so much. I’d say another thing I really liked a lot was when the official visits came into town. It would be really fun because we’d always get some food trucks and be able to eat off the food trucks for the official visits and meet potential players that would end up playing at Iowa State. That was really fun to do and I just love the togetherness of the team.”
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In 2023, the uniforms turned back the clock to 1923, honoring Jack Trice. The helmet and pants each had a patch which read “Ames”, a nod to the Cyclones being referred to as such in the early 1900s. The cardinal jersey features gray chevron bars, which signified the uniform style worn by Jack Trice and Iowa State during the 1923 season.
“I actually got my 2023 Jack Trice jersey framed,” Singleton said. “It means the world to me. It’s literally hanging in my room. That game, especially me being an African American, Jack Trice really paved the way for us. I mean, he literally sacrificed himself for people like myself. So, to be able to be in college and wear that jersey. That was a huge game. For me, I went out there with pride. I remember that day like yesterday. To be able to get a sack while wearing that jersey was really cool. I just love how we still share and talk about Jack Trice’s story. Not only is he a huge part of African American history. He’s a huge part of Iowa State’s history. I mean I don’t really care who the coach is, Jack Trice should always be a big staple of Iowa State football.”
Singleton’s coaches on the defensive side of the ball included defensive line coach Eli Rasheed and defensive coordinator Jon Heacock. Along with teammate Domonique Orange, Singleton was named to the All-Big 12 honorable mention (defensive line) in 2024.
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“Although there’s been a lot of turnover in the coaching staff, I still have relationships with people in the building,” Singleton said. “Eventually, when I get a second to go back and see everybody, hug everybody. I mean I had a great relationship with coach Rasheed and coach Heacock. They were really hard on me, coached me hard, but loved on me hard too. I think when you have that balance, I think it brought the best out of me. I was able to learn so much at a young age which I think also helped my mental capacity when I got to NFL. When I faced adversity I knew what to do. I knew who to call on. I knew how to take a step back, instead of acting out of frustration out of any situation. I’m really happy for coach Rasheed getting the job at Rice. I actually talked to him for like an hour. We were just laughing it on up, not even talking about football, just talking about life and how far God has taken us. Coach Heacock, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest defensive coordinators in college football ever. He still talks to me. He texted me and told me he loves me too. So, these are relationships I have for a lifetime.”
Singleton’s senior season, 2024, saw him named co-captain. He had a career high 32 tackles and a team high four sacks while wearing No. 58 in honor of Curtis Bray. With 14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter at the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Singleton was credited with the lone pass deflection of his career – an Emory Williams pass that caromed off his helmet.
“The 2024 season was a very special season,” Singleton said. “The most winningest team in Iowa State history. We knew we had something special even before it started. I know to some people it was kind of a surprise because we were coming off of being 7-6 and losing to Memphis in the Liberty Bowl. But we knew we were just a couple things away from really having something that really special. It really just came down to the connection that we had as a group.”
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“I can say the same thing about being on the Seahawks,” Singleton added. “When you can have a football team that moves all in one direction, all at their heart has one goal you can do some powerful things in life. It’s actually really amazing. I’ve seen it done twice now in two years history being made. Because people can follow one mission and not let their own personal vendettas get in the way of it. I think that’s really cool. Being able to be a captain with Iowa State greats like Jaylin Noel, Beau Freyler and myself and then along with the rest of the seniors like it was such an honor. That was one of my dreams when I came to Iowa State is to be a captain and be able to lead not only that team but be a leader in the community too. That 2024 season, I will forever remember that forever.”
