The #Motor4Heisman trend began, as it should have, with a sarcastic quip.
Typically, during the 2017 season, I was sitting either directly next to or within speaking range of Shandel Richardson, who was covering FAU for the Sun-Sentinel. I was in my first full year covering FAU for the Palm Beach Post as a freelancer.
We’d seen Motor burst onto the scene in the final month of his true freshman season. But it was only a few weeks into his sophomore year, on FAU’s Sept. 30, 2017, victory over Middle Tennessee. That felt like the night that he really left his mark.
Motor rushed for four touchdowns, and I think it was after the third one that I said to Shandel, “Motor is gonna win the Heisman.” He had one touchdown that night where he made jukes near the sideline that would’ve had “Madden 07” Reggie Bush jealous and calling shenanigans.
Such was the case for a good amount of Motor’s 66 rushing touchdowns over three seasons. Giving Motor the ball within a team’s 20-yard line was essentially a guaranteed touchdown.
I’m not sure if all that poetic waxing will wind up on his Conference USA Hall of Fame plaque, but let’s at least try to get some of it in there.
Wednesday’s news is bittersweet, only because it’s a reminder of what mid-major football fans will struggle to have again.
A 32-rushing touchdown would have caught the eyes of a Power school. No question. Add in the reality that Motor’s brilliant 2017 came as a true sophomore, so he would’ve needed to wait one more year before hitting the NFL.
None of this is to say that Motor would’ve transferred, nor am I taking an anti-portal stance.
That said, nothing happened, so we can focus solely on the sweet. The one thing that FAU fans can always say is that they were there for history. No one can take the memories away from them, especially not Motor carving through FIU’s defense that November.
That 2017 team was magical. I’ll still argue that the comeback at Western Kentucky, when Motor ran for over 240 yards and four touchdowns, is one of the greatest FAU games I’ve ever seen — and I wasn’t even in Bowling Green! (Then again, with how cold it looked on TV, maybe I got off lucky.)
But what’s funny about Motor is he wasn’t a freak athlete, nor was he a system player. He was a damn good running back who led by example. At times, he was an old-school bellcow, but with the jukes and spins to turn a 5-yard gain into 15 or 20 yards.
And Motor wasn’t an 11-game wonder, either. He was as dependable as they come. You don’t rattle off nearly 20 consecutive 100-yard games by accident.
Not long after Motor declared for the draft, I asked FAU athletic director Brian White if they’d ever retire Singletary’s No. 5.
Looking back over seven years later, it was a waste of a question in a one-on-one interview … but was it?
I contend that Alfred Morris remains the most influential player in FAU football history because of his success with the Redskins. When NBC would air a Redskins game, and he’d announce he was from Florida Atlantic, people took note. Growing up in suburban New York, he was the only reason I knew FAU existed.
Unless you were a top NFL player, my knowledge of mid-major football teams* was relatively limited. Sure, I’d watch MACtion, but I wasn’t exactly turning into ULL-Troy.
*Outside of UTSA, of course. #Okotcha4Heisman forever. IYKYK.
But Motor put up stats that would’ve felt excessive in a video game. He and Azeez Al-Shaair were the faces of a 2017 team that nearly ended the season in the Top 25 despite starting 1-3. But, naturally, we tend to focus far more on the offense, even more so when the running back averages nearly three touchdowns per game.
I have to think that some of those highlights would’ve gone viral in the Instagram and TikTok reel era. Imagine that.
Fast forward to July 2026. Motor is already going into his eighth season, this one with the Giants. I got to watch him in person against the Chargers last September when I went up to New York. He’s rushed for nearly 5,000 yards, and he’s averaged 4.4 yards per carry. He’s even suited up for 10 playoff games and nearly made it to the Super Bowl while in Buffalo. Between college and the NFL, he’s rushed for well over 100 touchdowns.
So, here’s to Motor. It’s been one hell of a decade, and he doesn’t seem done yet — and we’re not finished watching, either.
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