As Brandon Singleton and his father, Nate, walked through the California locker room on a visit at California Memorial Stadium last year, one thing in particular caught Nate's eye.

“I looked and saw they have a big clock in the locker room that says how many days, hours and minutes there are until the next opponent,” Nate said.

What the clock read, though, made Nate take a step back.

“You're playing Grambling State?” asked a surprised Nate to his son.

Brandon smiled and laughed, overwhelmed with the coincidence that his first college football opponent is his father's alma mater.

Grambling State is a school that is more important to Brandon than just the next opponent.

Following a successful football career at Grambling State, Nate, who graduated from GSU in 1992, played in the NFL for five seasons as a wide receiver and won Super Bowl XXIX in 1994 with the San Francisco 49ers.

While at GSU, Nate was coached by the late legendary Tigers' football coach Eddie Robinson, one of just three coaches in NCAA football history to ever win 400 or more games. He coached over 200 future NFL players, such as Nate, Super Bowl XXII champion quarterback Doug Williams and Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Brown.

“Coach Robinson was big on discipline and a great coach,” Nate said. “He shaped many lives and taught me a lot.”

While Robinson is no longer standing on the sidelines, many of the Tigers' traditions and customs still vibrate even to Brandon's generation.

Brandon, Nate and Kim Singleton's only child, was born in Southern Louisiana, roughly 300 miles south of Grambling.

Brandon, a true freshman wide receiver for the Bears, admitted to not being the biggest Tigers fan as child growing up, but does have fond memories of the Grambling State traditions.

“We didn't go to many Grambling State games, but we tried to go the Bayou Classic every year,” Brandon said. “My favorite part was definitely the bands. You can tell Grambling State has a lot of pride.”

Brandon, who was also an extremely accomplished Louisiana high school track athlete at Hahnville High School, didn't originally want to play football. It wasn't until around the age of 16 when he reached out to his father and expressed the desire.

“I told him let's get to work,” Nate said. “He really dedicated himself to becoming a great receiver, which isn't easy. The hardest part about being a receiver is it's a process. You have to take it one day at a time.

“But you can't hide hard work and he's worked hard,” Nate added with more passion in his voice.

Brandon dedicated himself to that notion of one day at a time. He trained and learned the intricacies of the position, a challenge still to this day but one that Brandon is tackling, and leans on his father's guidance for support.

Even though they're now on opposite sides of the country and haven't seen each other in a couple months, Brandon and his father talk on the phone everyday.

“He's really great to talk to about football, but also stuff off the field,” Brandon said. “I definitely think he learned a lot of that from Coach Robinson. He talks about him all the time.”

Although Brandon has chosen a different school than his father's, the traditions and teachings Grambling State holds are still evident on his calm shoulders.

So on Saturday, when the clock in the Golden Bears' locker room hits zero and Brandon takes the stairs up to the field for his first game as a Bear, it won't just be any another opponent waiting on the field.

It'll be a reflection of what has helped shape him.