Former Arizona receiver Dorian Singer re-enters transfer portal after one season at USC

Sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. 

Former Arizona star wide receiver Dorian Singer entered the transfer portal on Wednesday following one season at USC. Singer had 23 catches for 276 yards and three touchdowns. He was fifth on the team in receiving yards. 

Singer transferred to USC after two seasons at Arizona and joined cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace and defensive tackle Kyon Barrs as ex-Wildcats to bolt for USC.

In his last season at Arizona, Singer was an All-Pac-12 second-team selection and recorded 66 catches for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns in a UA passing offense that ranked sixth nationally in college football. Among his top performances was against USC in Tucson last season, when the product of St. Paul, Minnesota, had seven catches for 141 yards and three touchdowns.

“He made a bunch of great catches, and I looked over at one of our coaches and said, ‘After this season, are we gonna go get him?’” USC quarterback and potential No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams said at Pac-12 Media Day in July.

There were two blemishes on Singer's career at Arizona: The former walk-on and Phoenix Pinnacle High School star was ejected from the Wildcats' Territorial Cup loss to Arizona State in Tempe in 2021, and got into a shoving match with former quarterback Jayden de Laura on the sidelines of Arizona's loss to Washington State last season. At the time, Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said the incident was "two competitive guys just disappointed in each other."

Singer entered the portal the first time just before Arizona star receiver Jacob Cowing announced his decision to return to the UA for his final season instead of declaring for the NFL Draft. Standout Tetairoa McMillan was another member of Arizona's star receiving corps to return for the 2023 season. 

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Singer transferred to USC to team up with Williams, the '22 Heisman Trophy winner, and a Trojans team billed as a potential College Football Playoff hopeful, in addition to a plethora of NIL opportunities in Los Angeles.

When Fisch was asked about re-recruiting players to stay at Arizona in the era of NIL and the transfer portal on the "Move the Sticks" podcast, he said: “It’s disappointing in a lot of ways and what I think needs to happen is people who have left your program, you need to see how they’ve done.

"Why would you want to leave if you’re good? You want to leave if you’re good because someone is offering you more money. That’s the only reason why you would want to leave if you’re good. What happens is you don’t know what’s going to happen next. You don’t know where you’re going to go.”

Added Fisch: “You don’t know what it’s going to look like. Next thing you know you make a decision for one year’s of college money versus a 10-year NFL career path possibly. If you’re good, but not great, you’re not really a retention issue; you’re going to be retained. If you’re poor, then that’s an evaluation issue.’

“I wish those kids just took a step back and say, ‘For what? One year? Why are they coming after me? Because I’m doing great here?’ ‘So how about do great again?’ ... When we talk to these kids, I keep telling them, ‘If you think going to another school and being less productive is going to help you get drafted, you are wrong. You are wrong, no matter what your uncle is telling you, no matter what your cousin is telling you. You’re wrong.'”

Despite transferring a second time, new NCAA rules permit Singer immediately eligibility at his new destination.