One day last spring, Freddie Whittingham made a spontaneous appearance at Pinnacle High School’s football practice.

As the long-time head coach at the school in Phoenix, Arizona, Dana Zupke often sees Utah’s tight end coach around the state in search of recruits to add to Utah’s next freshman class.

But on this occasion, Whittingham dropped by to chat with Zupke about his former high school prodigy Dorian Singer. The senior wide receiver had just finalized his transfer from USC to Utah weeks before, prompting a feeling of elation within Utah’s coaching staff.

“Man, we’re so excited to have Dorian,” Whittingham told Zupke that day. “He’s going to be our guy.”

Since transferring to the Utes, Singer has made his mark on the offense. He leads all wide receivers with 17 receptions and 204 receiving yards. Last week, the senior logged his best game yet, finishing with a game-high seven catches and 95 yards.

“He wants to have opportunities to make plays,” Zupke told The Salt Lake Tribune. “I think ultimately hearing that from the coaches is what sold Dorian on going to Utah.”

Ahead of No. 10 Utah’s (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) matchup vs. Arizona (2-1, 0-1) at 8:15 p.m. MT on Saturday in Salt Lake City, Singer will have a chance to continue his success against his former team.

He walked on with the Wildcats in 2020, playing in Tucson for two seasons.

There he became one of Arizona’s top offensive options, finishing with a career-high 66 receptions, 1,105 receiving yards and six touchdowns in his sophomore season. His career has since been a winding road. He joined Lincoln Riley and the Trojans in search of an opportunity to maximize his talents, only to be disappointed with his snap count.

After the 2023 season, he entered the portal with the intention of joining an offense that would utilize him as a primary option.

He thinks he’s found that in the Utes.

“When you’re just one of eight talented receivers on the roster, it’s really hard to get your touches and your opportunities,” Zupke said. “I know Dorian’s ultimate goal is to play on Sundays. He had to start looking at the (USC) situation as a young man and question, ‘Hey, is this going to help me achieve my goals?’”

Behind Singer’s NFL ambitions is the spirit of an underdog. A quiet personality that ignites when he’s on the field. And, a long journey that ultimately landed him in Salt Lake City.

But as he looks back on his career, he now feels like he’s found a place he can call home.

“I feel like I adjusted as soon as I got here,” Singer said. “I love the coaches, and I love the fans.”

‘He truly bet on himself’

In between competitive UNO games, pickup basketball and pool, Devon Dampier and Singer developed a brotherly bond during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Singer is originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he was raised by his mother, Lamonica Hayes.

For three seasons, he played for Tartan High School, located in a suburb of his hometown. But, as COVID spread across the country and shut down athletic activities in Minnesota, Singer made the move to Phoenix to play his senior season of football.

At the time, the senior wide receiver wasn’t close with Dampier, who is now the starting quarterback at New Mexico, but he moved in with his family in hopes of chasing his football dreams and earning more Division I offers.

“Coming to Arizona in high school and being able to experience competition with greater talent,” Dampier told The Tribune, “I thought that was a great move for him to make.”

Singer’s decision paid off, even if it didn’t go the way he originally planned. Singer held offers from Texas, Utah, Iowa State and others by the end of his senior season at Pinnacle High School.

There was no doubt in either Zupke’s or Dampier’s mind that Singer would make an impact at a D1 program. They had seen the one-handed catches he’d make. His focus and work ethic indicated he could find success.

All he had to do was find the right program.

But, instead of committing to any of the schools that offered him, Singer made the surprising decision to walk on at Arizona.

“I think he waited too long,” Zupke said. “But, I knew he was going to go shine somewhere. When (former Arizona coach) Jedd Fisch came in that was big. They said, ‘Look, we don’t have any scholarships, but you will have one as soon as one opens up,’ and they were true to the word.”

Singer ultimately made the most of his time at Arizona. By his second season, he landed on the radar of USC head coach Lincoln Riley, who is known for developing top quarterback and wide receiver talents.

By then, the receiver entered the portal and later joined Riley in Los Angeles, but Arizona taught him key lessons that he carries on his shoulders even today.

“He truly bet on himself,” Dampier said. “I think that was a great learning point. It taught him to trust himself and know God’s gonna work for him.”

‘He’s a complete player’

As Singer navigated his new team and life with USC in LA, things didn’t go as he had planned.

The wide receiver found himself fighting for playing time among receivers like Tahj Washington, Brenden Rice, Duce Robinson and more.

By the end of the season, Singer finished with 24 receptions, 289 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Zupke caught wind of Singer’s frustration in the Trojan’s offense through conversations with Robinson, who was also one of his former players at Pinnacle High School.

“He was very frustrated just because his productivity went down,” Zupke said.

Singer added: “At USC, things just weren’t working out there.”

By the end of 2023, Singer — as he had done in his previous destinations — bet on himself and entered the transfer portal for one last time. He was in search of a place where he would be the top option in the offense. A place where he could fulfill his dreams of being drafted into the NFL.

That’s when Utah entered the picture.

On his official visit to Salt Lake City, Singer fell in love with the coaches. Both Dampier and Singer’s mothers were in attendance to help walk him through the process.

Like most things in his college career, his official visit with the Utes didn’t go as planned.

Singer was sick with food poisoning, but that didn’t stop him from committing to the Utes on Jan. 15.

“He was sick, but he pushed through it,” Hayes said. “He knew he had to make the decision, and it really didn’t affect him. He loved everything about Utah. He loved the coaches, and that’s why he ultimately decided to go to Utah.”

Fast forward six months and a decision to commit to Utah, Singer has found his footing as a primary option in Utah’s offense. In fall camp, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham raved about the wide receiver.

He continued that praise ahead of Utah’s matchup vs. Arizona, Singer’s former team.

“I’ve liked everything about Dorian’s play,” Kyle Whittingham said on Monday. “He’s very valuable. I think what you saw on Saturday was more indicative of how we should be able to utilize him, week in and week out.

“He’s a complete player. He’ll block for you. He’s made some big blocks for us this year in the run game. He’s tough. His hands are incredible.”

And, while it might’ve taken some time, Singer has finally emerged in the Utes’ offense. Last Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the senior wide receiver made, most likely, his flashy play of the season.

Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson threw a pass over the middle and Singer pinned the ball on his left shoulder pad while tumbling into the turf.

Somehow it was ruled a catch.

“That pass that he caught the other day was just unbelievable,” Hayes said. “I wasn’t there in person, but I was in front of my TV hollering.”

As the season storms on and Utah positions itself for a potential Big 12 title run, Singer wants to continue making plays like the one he made vs. OSU.

Those catches, he hopes, will make his long journey — filled with cross-country moves, official visits and entrances into the transfer portal — all worth it in the end.

“I think,” Singer said, “it’s made me the man I am today.”