All Hogs

Saga of 'Flash Covington' Reveals How Ridiculous Transfer Portal Has Become

Razorbacks fans duped by trolling post of NAIA superstar joining SEC, becoming Hog

Kent Smith

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman on the sidelines against the Texas Longhorns at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark.
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman on the sidelines against the Texas Longhorns at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Consider it a commentary on the absurdity of not only social media, but also the college football transfer portal.

Sunday evening began with a text that led down a rabbit hole that had a quick, but adventurous ending full of eye rolls, yet understanding. Flash Covington, a wide receiver with 4.43 speed and 77 catches for 1,485 yards and 12 touchdowns from St. Xavier University, was about to go down, ever so briefly, in Arkansas Razorbacks lore.

"Who the heck is Flash Covington and where in the world is this Arkansas University?" the first text bringing attention to a supposed commitment post on Twitter read.

The fact this text went out among five Sports Illustrated reporters, three of whom spend a great deal of time keeping up with Arkansas recruiting, and no one had any idea who the sophomore receiver is was the first of what would become many red flags. Of course the second was Covington was supposedly committing to a school, yet didn't know its proper name, usually a key indicator of AI involvement or people from foreign countries trying to mess with people in the United States.

There was true effort there though. It not only included @'s for a handful of local reporters, but also the Arkansas hashtag, while also pulling on Razorback nostalgia with a media photo of receivers Greg Childs, Cobi Hamilton, Jarius Wright and Joe Adams from the Bobby Petrino heyday.

It was surrounded by other Tweets that included a visit to Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss that was supposed to take place Dec. 20, reports of offers from schools like Bryant, Georgia Southern and Akron, along with one rather curious touch. Nearly two weeks before the Arkansas announcement, there is a note of contrition that serves an apology for not being respectful of his offers from smaller schools while publicly reaching out to Arkansas and North Carolina.

It was a beautiful touch of drama that set up a dream scenario of being able to play for the Hogs in the eventual commitment post. However, in another red flag moment, a player who was willing to post an announcement and photo that he had received an offer from Henderson State and publicly announced other actual visits, never said he was going to visit the Razorbacks despite him supposedly getting in hot water for calling for their attention publicly.

Meanwhile, while one member of the SI team sifted through the array of Twitter posts, another was out looking for background information on Covington and his accomplishments. After all, a receiver with that kind of speed putting up those kinds of numbers at an NAIA school must have a story or two about that sort of All-American type performance.

Not a word. However, it's hard to get coverage at that level with all the cutbacks at the small media outlets that would likely cover them.

All that needed to be done was go to the team website and check out the stats. Yet, that revealed not a huge budding star at the top of the list, but Ronnie Foster, the Cougars' leading receiver with 559 yards and four touchdowns, a far cry from the dominant numbers claimed by Covington.

Turns out, there's not a Covington on the entire roster, much less one with an enigmatic name like Flash. This flimsy claim was sucking in Razorbacks fans on social media in droves, but it had quickly fallen apart amid the slightest scrutiny by those tasked with keeping up with team news.

However, had fans simply scrolled down a little bit, the recruiting posts disappear and a set of tweets that give the appearance of being a disgruntled Arkansas fan all come into view. All signs of a quality troll.

A tweet making fun of Kentucky basketball fans dreaming of Arkansas and a tweet about Auburn back-up quarterback Walker White
Twitter.com
A tweet about Sam Pittman being ranked too high as the No. 14 best coach in the SEC.
Twitter.com
A photo of a tweet criticizing Arkansas coach Sam Pittman.
Twitter

Seeing those is all it would have taken for the most gullible of Arkansas fans to realize this isn't real. Yet, the feed is filled with people welcoming Covington to the team, saying they are glad to have this fictitious recruit, and praising his choice of photo for the announcement.

It would be lazy to say that fans should have known it was a ruse simply by the name of the school. However, Razorbacks fans aren't expected to know St. Xavier is an NAIA school, and the big news of the day was Arkansas is attempting to replace Division II receiver Andrew Armstrong with Division II Virginia Union receiver Reginald Vick

What was once considered the absurd for Arkansas football is now common practice in the portal era. Hogs fans accept the Razorbacks are paying players they don't know from tiny schools they've never heard of to come play in the SEC. So far, in regard to Armstrong and fellow receiver Issac TeSlaa, it's worked out.

So, while fans should probably be a little more diligent in welcoming players to the fold, this stuff comes so fast and from so many strange directions that it's understandable. It's the perfect trolling environment, so it was bound to happen at some point in time.

HOGS FEED:

• Arkansas tries to lure in Division II Virginia Union WR Vick to replace Armstrong

• Pay-for-play, paint points, and proficient Hogs' passing

• Razorbacks' Season Shows Why CFP Committee Not That Far Off

• Calipari, four Arkansas players remember Golden Grizzlies

• Will Hogs have to deal with all this again next season?

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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