No matter the sport, Alex Singleton loves to be in the middle of the action.

Lives for it, actually.

“I hate just standing around,” admits Singleton. “I hate when (the ball) goes the other way.”

In baseball, his position of choice was catcher. Armed with a mask, chest protector and special mitt, baseball’s backstop is mentally and physically invested in every pitch.

On the football field, it’s no surprise Singleton lines up at middle linebacker, the guy who is literally in the centre of the defence – the defensive line in front of him, the secondary at his back and an outside linebacker and the SAM defensive back on either side.

What does Singleton like most about playing that position?

“Get to make tackles and that you’re in the middle,” he says. “You’re always around everything. That’s like when I played baseball, I always liked playing catcher because then you’re always involved.”

Singleton tied the club’s single-game tackle record during the 2017 Labour Day Classic (Photo by David Moll)

Thanks to his positioning, his sideline-to-sideline speed and his relentless pursuit of the offensive player unfortunate enough to be holding the football, Singleton is having a season for the ages.

With four games left on the schedule – and despite sitting out the fourth quarters of a pair of blowout wins by the Stamps – Singleton has already hit the 100-tackle milestone for the season. He joins Doug Landry and George White as the only players in Stamps history to hit triple digits in takedowns and White’s team record of 116 is well within reach.

Singleton also has his sights set on the CFL record for most tackles in a season by a Canadian, which is 113 set by Toronto’s Kevin Eiben in 2005.

Ever since stepping into a starting role during the 2016 Labour Day Classic – the Stamps cleared the way for him by releasing Taylor Reed – Singleton has racked up an astounding 149 tackles in 22 games.

In this year’s Labour Day grudge match against the Eskimos, Singleton celebrated his one-year anniversary as a starter by making 13 tackles to tie Greg Peterson’s franchise single-game record.

He followed that up with a pair of 11-tackle performances, making him the first player in CFL history since the start was first officially tracked in 1987 to record double digits in tackles in three consecutive outings.

Not only are Singleton’s 102 tackles seven more than BC’s Solomon Elimimian for the league lead, he’s a whopping 63 tackles ahead of the runner-up on his own team in that category, cornerback Ciante Evans.

While it’s been a spectacular season on an individual level for Singleton, he’s also been part of a remarkable team effort.

Since allowing 70 combined points against Ottawa in back-to-back games to open the season, the Stamps have allowed just 14.3 points per contest in the 12 games since.

Calgary leads the CFL in numerous defensive categories including fewest points allowed (15.8 per game), net offence (317.1 yards per game), rushing yards allowed (73.9 yards per game), touchdowns allowed (21), passing touchdowns allowed (14) and quarterback pressures (101).