Karambir “KB” Singh, previously a top offensive lineman on Arizona College Prep's football team, recently became the “first visible Sikh with unshorn hair and beard to sign with a Division I college football program”, the East Valley Tribune reports. After an impressive two years with the Arizona Knights, Singh has now joined the Valparaiso Beacons in Indiana for the 2024 college football season. Although this accomplishment certainly didn’t come easy for Singh, he credits his Sikh faith for the inner strength and determination that helped him reach his goals.
Sikh warrior philosophy
According to Singh, Sikhism is best summed up as “a religion of warriors that bring forth peace.” They’re strong minded, goal orientated, and know God is the reason why they have these qualities. Singh, who prays and reads scripture everyday, says his faith and work ethic combined are responsible for his achievements on the field so far—including becoming the first Sikh football player to wear a traditional beard and unshorn hair and enter a Division I college football program (the highest level of college sports competition in the United States).
Breaking down barriers
“It was a special moment for sure,” Singh said. “There’s a stereotype. When you think of an Indian person you think of them being really smart and wanting to be a doctor or engineer. That’s what people would ask when they came to our house, ‘Hey, are you going to be a doctor?’ No. I’m going to be in the NFL’. “It showed that anybody can do it. It doesn’t matter what you look like.” Singh also said he relies on his faith to help him make the right decisions in life, and this has worked out well for him. “It teaches me to keep levelheaded and stay humble. On a football field you have to play with a little swagger but in life just stay humble.”
After college, Singh also wants to become the world-first Sikh to play football professionally. “I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can, as fast as I can,” said Singh. “I want to earn my spot. Hopefully, I can turn some heads of NFL scouts as well. I just need to keep pushing and keep working.”
Playing D-Line for Valparaiso this season
The Valparaiso Beacons play in the Pioneer Football League, a division I conference in the Football Championship Subdivision, and the school was one of the first Division I program’s to offer Singh a scholarship, which he happily accepted. The Beacons are a particularly exciting team to join as they’ve scored forteen victories across the last four seasons—the most games the team’s won in that time period in the history of their league. "When I first received (the offer from) Valparaiso, it was a really big moment for me," Singh said. "It's been my goal to go play D-I football since fifth grade and that allowed me to finally achieve it! When I got it, I knew it was home for me."
"My favorite part of playing O-Line has to be the competitive nature that all my guys played with and how we pushed each other to be great," Singh continued. "And just as high up there is parking the D-Line. That's the reward for the work we put in!". Including Singh, a total of thirty talented and promising college athletes have signed to play for Valparaiso in the upcoming season. Last fall season, the team had both the best scoring and total defense they’ve had since 2000, and the new team looks likely to continue the same trajectory.
Taking the Knights to new heights
Singh started out playing defensive at Hamilton for a year, before he transferred to Arizona College Prep where he joined the Knights. Although he thought he’d remain on defense, to his surprise, Singh was made right tackle on the offensive line. He was a starting player for two consecutive years, and played a key role in transforming the program into a Class 4A power in 2022. Last season, the Knights won seven games in the regular season, and lost three. The team was also declared the No. 10 seed.
“A really good teammate”
Singh’s a quick and athletic lineman, and also has demonstrated the leadership skills needed to become team captain. Arizona College Prep head coach Steve Vaught also highly recommends Singh. “They’re getting a really hard worker, a really good teammate and an extremely tough individual,” Vaught said. “He was basically a coach on the field. He’s just an extremely mature young man and he did a great job of promoting the culture of the program.”
You can catch the Beacons’ first match of the season against the Northern Iowa Panthers at the University of Northern Iowa on August 31st. The team is also set to open the Pioneer Football League with a match against Morehead State on September 28th.