Tag: Arkansas football

Pittman, Razorbacks pick up commitment from Springdale offensive lineman

Arkansas needs all the bodies it can get on the offensive line. Jonas Nantze is one of those bodies.

Jonas Nantze, the newest member of the Arkansas football recruiting Class of 2024, won’t have far to move into his new digs.

Nantze committed to Arkansas as a preferred walk-on Tuesday out of Shiloh Christian in Springdale. A 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive lineman, Nantze picked the PWO offer from Arkansas over scholarships from FCS power Kennesaw State and the Naval Academy.

Shiloh Christian made it to the state championship in the fall, falling to Little Rock Parkview. During that season, Nantze registered 141 pancake blocks, per WholeHogSports, last year. His commitment was one of the rare waves Arkansas made during National Signing Day on Wednesday.

Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman signed 16 high-school players during early signing day back in December. Another 14 players joined Arkansas via the transfer portal.

Nantze should get every opportunity to have an effect quickly. Arkansas’ offensive line allowed 47 sacks in 2023, which ranked the Hogs 128th in FBS out of its 133 teams. The Razorbacks’ rushing attack also finished 87th in FBS, running for jus 139 yards per game.

Jordan Anthony shows why Arkansas wanted him in football…by dominating track

Jordan Anthony may not crack Arkansas’ wide receiver rotation in the fall. But it now makes sense why he chose the Hogs out of the transfer portal.

When Jordan Anthony committed to the Arkansas football team out of the transfer portal over the winter, the addition was one that made Razorbacks happy, but also one that had them asking why.

Anthony had three catches for 14 yards for Texas A&M last year and would be entering an Arkansas program that ultimately returned its top seven wide receivers from the depth chart. Certainly Anthony’s familiarity with new Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino was part of a reason why he chose the Razorbacks. Petrino was A&M’s coordinator last year.

On Saturday, though, things made a lot more sense.

Anthony ran a 6.62-second 60-meter dash in his Arkansas track-and-field debut in the New Mexico Collegiate Classic. The time ranks third in Razorbacks history.

“If anybody is thinking I didn’t do what they thought I would do, just watch. This is just the beginning,” Anthony told WholeHogSports. “Just watch, and enjoy the show. It will pick up.”

His personal best in the 60-meter dash is 6.57 seconds, a time he ran last year for the Aggies. One of his priorities when he hit the portal was joining a school that would not only allow him to participate in both sports, but succeed in both.

If that speed translates to the football field, he could crack the Razorbacks’ wide receiver rotation in the fall. For now, though, he’s focused on track.

“I’m excited, I’ve started the indoor season a little later than some other sprinters,” Anthony said. “We still have five weeks until the NCAA Indoor.”

Nephew of former Arkansas great Jason Peters commits to Razorbacks

Markeylin Batton is the nephew of former Arkansas great Jason Peters.

Sam Pittman and the Arkansas football team picked up their fourth commit of the Class of 2025 on Friday.

Markeylin Batton, a three-star athlete from Texas committed late Saturday, choosing Arkansas over Missouri, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Oregon State, Houston and others.

Batton played running back, wide receiver and defensive back last year for his Atlanta High School team. Recruiting services expect he would play running back or defensive back in college.

He joins four-star running back Jamarion Parker, three-star quarterback Grayson Wilson and kicker Evan Noel as the fourth member of Arkansas’ Class of 2025. The Hogs’ Class of 2024 signed 16 players in December. If that number seems smaller than usual, it’s because it is. Teams have focused more on the transfer portal than high-school recruiting since the pandemic.

If Batton signs and plays for the Razorbacks, he will follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Arkansas tight end-turned-NFL-offensive-lineman Jason Peters

Arkansas four-star signee backs out of joining Razorbacks

The top-ranked offensive player in Arkansas’ recruiting class was granted his release this week.

One of the top-ranked signees in Arkansas football’s Class of 2024 has been released from his letter of inent as of Thursday.

Wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman, the top wide receiver who signed with Arkansas back in December, was released from that commitment, per a report by WholeHogSports. Bethel-Roman, from Texas, was a four-star recruit, was the No. 3 player in Arkansas’ signing class.

Bethel-Roman was recruited most heavily by former Arkansas wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton. Guiton finished the season as Razorbacks offensive coordinator following the firing of Dan Enos midseason. The Hogs then hired Bobby Petrino to be the team’s full-time offensive coordinator at season’s end and Guiton left Arkansas to take the wide receivers coaching gig at Wisconsin.

It’s unclear where Bethel-Roman will sign, though, according to the report, he is expected to sign next week. Wisconsin was not initially high on his radar.

Arkansas is returning every significant member of its wide receiving corps from 2023 and also signed Jordan Anthony, formerly of Texas A&M, from the transfer portal in the offseason. Those additions should help ease the blow in the short term.

Ronnie Fouch was hired in January to take over Guiton. Fouch worked previously at Missouri State for Petrino.

Watch: Ex-Arkansas and current Niners LB Dre Greenlaw celebrates Super Bowl appearance

Former Hogs linebacker Dre Greenlaw and ex-Arkansas QB Brandon Allen are both headed to their second Super Bowls.

Former Arkansas football players Dre Greenlaw and Brandon Allen will play in Super Bowl LVIII after the San Francisco 49ers rallied to beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday night.

The 49ers overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit to win 34-31. The Niners will play the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the Super Bowl from 2020.

For Allen, the appearance will be his second in the last three years. A third-string quarterback for San Francisco this year, Allen made the Super Bowl in 2022 when he was the back-up signal-caller for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Greenlaw is also playing in his second Super Bowl. He was on that San Francisco team that lost to the Chiefs in 2020, 31-20.

Allen did not see any game action this regular season. Greenlaw started 15 games and recorded 120 tackles. He has been a starter on the 49ers defense all five of his professional years, though he was limited to three games in 2021 because of a groin injury.

This year’s Super Bowl is Feb. 11 at 5:30 p.m. CT and will be played in Las Vegas.

Want to play football for the Hogs? Here’s your chance

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman is looking for some new players. It probably won’t be you, dear reader, but, hey, stranger things have happened.

Well, there is a catch with the headline.

The Arkansas football team will hold tryouts for walk-ons for next year’s roster on February 6 at the Smith Football Center. All who attempt must be full-time students at the university on Fayetteville’s campus and prospective players must be available during mornings of the spring semester.

The try-out process is not unlike what many other teams and schools do, so any reader who thinks “Sam Pittman must be desperate” should probably pack that criticism away.

Not just anyone, even if he or she meets that criteria above, can walk into the tryouts, either. Prospective players must have played football in high school or college and must bring their own equipment. They also need to fill out the requisite medical and insurance forms.

That eliminates most readers of this piece, sure, but Arkansas is famous for walk-ons making big leaps and ultimately earning scholarships. For more information on the process, click the link.

Arkansas went 4-8 last year in what Pittman’s worst season since he became head coach before the 2020 season.

Four former Hogs remain in NFL playoffs

Either Dre Greenlaw and Brandon Allen will make it or Frank Ragnow and Dan Skipper will. The former Arkansas football players will all play for a shot at the Super Bowl.

Either Frank Ragnow and Dan Skipper will get a shot or Dre Greenlaw and Brandon Allen will.

Those four former Arkansas football players all still remain in the NFL Playoffs, their teams set to play each other in the NFC Championship on January 28.

Ragnow and Skipper are offensive linemen for the Detroit Lions. The Lions made their first NFC Championship in franchise history when they beat Tampa Bay over the weekend.

Ragnow is considered one of the best, if not the best, center in the NFL. He’s been a starter for all six of his seasons with the Lions and been named to the Pro Bowl three times.

Skipper has been a back-up tackle for the Lions for most of the last six seasons. He played in all 16 games with five starts last year and played in 11 games with one start this year.

Greenlaw has been a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers since 2019 and a starter every year. The 49ers have made the NFC title game four of the last five seasons, the same amount of time Greenlaw has been on the team.

Allen is a back-up quarterback for the Niners, as well. He did not see any time in the regular season and previously made his way to the Super Bowl with Cincinnati Bengals.

All four former Razorbacks played together in Fayetteville under coach Bret Bielema. Allen, the oldest, played from 2012-2015. Skipper joined in 2013 and played through 2016, while Ragnow and Greenlaw joined in 2015. Ragnow played two seasons before going pro whereas Greenlaw played four years at Arkansas.

Report: These super seniors are expected to return to Arkansas football in 2024

According to reports, Arkansas football is expected to return these nine super seniors for 2024. Here’s a closer look at each of them.

Arkansas football is expected to return nine super seniors for the 2024 season. Best of Arkansas Sports’ Andrew Hutchinson first broke the news on Thursday Morning.

Of those nine, four are on the offensive side of the ball and five are on the defensive side. For the Razorback offense, wide receivers [autotag]Andrew Armstrong[/autotag], [autotag]Isaac TeSlaa[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyrone Broden[/autotag] are set to return. Offensive lineman [autotag]Ty’Kieast Crawford[/autotag] is also returning to the Hogs.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive backs [autotag]Hudson Clark[/autotag] and [autotag]Kee’yon Stewart [/autotag]are set to return, as are defensive linemen [autotag]Eric Gregory[/autotag], [autotag]Keivie Rose[/autotag], and [autotag]Jashaud Stewart[/autotag]. It’s worth noting that Stewart is still indefinitely suspended from the program following an arrest in December. Because of this, his status is still technically undecided despite the expectation being that Stewart will return.

There are currently only three super seniors who haven’t announced a decision, but will not be returning to the Hogs in 2024. Offensive lineman Brady Latham has NFL Draft aspirations, while tight end Francis Sherman and defensive tackle Marcus Miller are moving on after each spent one season at Arkansas.

According to Hutchinson, the Razorbacks are at 83 scholarship players for 2024. The roster limit is 85, so there should be more movement as we get closer to spring practices.

For now, let’s take a closer look at the nine super seniors expected to return next season.

Quincey McAdoo among three whose Arkansas football career is over, per report

Quincey McAdoo was a rising star before a car wreck left his life in danger.

Arkansas cornerback Quincey McAdoo was one of three Razorbacks players to be granted a medical hardship for the 2024 season.

McAdoo played one season at Arkansas before a car wreck left him with a vetebral injury, one significant enough it remains unclear whether he will ever play football again. Earlier this month, however, McAdoo posted to X photographs of him working out in hopes of resuming his football career. Then on Wednesday, he posted saying no one should count him out.

McAdoo didn’t refute the medical hardship nor confirm it.

If it happens, it won’t at Arkansas. A medical hardship leaves players who take one on scholarship, but the player is not allowed to play again for the school at which he or she took the hardship. The player can ultimately transfer to another school and play again, making the hardship, at that point, moot.

Joining McAdoo with hardships were offensive linemen Eli Henderson and Terry Wells. None of the three players will count against Arkansas’ 85-man scholarship roster.

McAdoo enrolled at Arkansas from Clarendon as a wide receiver, but struggled to find playing time. He asked coach Sam Pittman to move to cornerback about halfway through the year, where he shined, ultimately earning All-Freshman honors in the SEC. McAdoo missed the entire 2023 season because of his subsequent injury.

Wommack, son of ex-Arkansas defensive coordinator, to take over as Alabama DC

Kane Wommack sound familiar? He was the son of former Arkansas DC Dave Wommack and is becoming the new Alabama defensive coordinator.

Kane Wommack, who has led the South Alabama football program for the last three seasons, recently resigned his post and is set to become the Alabama defensive coordinator.

Wommack, 36, is the son of former Arkansas defensive coordinator Dave Wommack, and actually graduated from Fayetteville High School in 2005 and lettered for the Razorbacks during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

He then transferred to Southern Mississippi where his father was the linebackers coach at the time and finished out his college career there before following in his father’s footsteps and getting into coaching.

Newly hired Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer previously served with Wommack on the Indiana staff in 2019, as DeBoer was the offensive coordinator and Wommack was the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator under Tom Allen.

Wommack led South Alabama to a major upset of Oklahoma State in Stillwater last season, defeating the Cowboys 33-7.