Hogs JUCO Products Duds More Than Studs Over Past Decade

Success stories for junior college standouts at Arkansas are few and far between.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When Arkansas hosted Auburn two weeks ago, everyone was treated to a 48-10 blowout loss. The Hogs allowed quarterback KJ Jefferson to be sacked five times. 

At least one prospect came away impressed knowing he could have an immediate impact next season. Keyshawn Blackstock, a former No. 1 JUCO offensive lineman in the 2023 class, committed to the Razorbacks on Monday. He will count as a transfer portal addition, but he is a former junior college prospect. Blackstock ended up not playing at Michigan State this season in the aftermath of former coach Mel Tucker’s dismissal.

Blackstock will have the opportunity for plenty of playing time at left tackle, a position played by a rotation of Andrew Chamblee and Devon Manuel. The 6-5, 315-pounder received 22 offers since entering the transfer portal earlier this season. He received offers from Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Colorado, Baylor, North Carolina State before committing to the Hogs. Arkansas has allowed a total of 42 sacks in 2023, good enough for last in the SEC and No. 127 in the nation.

Arkansas hosted a pair of junior college prospects this weekend while FIU was in town. Tight end Gregory Genross and offensive lineman Jaekwon Bouldin. Genross has a holds of offers from Mississippi State, West Virginia, Houston and the Razorbacks, while Bouldin seemed to be a Mississippi State lean before the firing of coach Zach Arnett. Should Arkansas receive commitments from either visitor, Arkansas will have added a junior college player in every class since 2016.

HOW SUCCESSFUL HAS ARKANSAS BEEN WITH JUCO PLAYERS LATELY?

This time around Sam Pittman and his Arkansas staff seem to be taking a different route in recruiting. 

Recently, the Razorbacks haven't reaped similar success in bringing in junior college players compared to the transfer portal. Even the past decade under three different head coaches, Arkansas has experienced underwhelming results with its junior college recruiting.

Now the staff is hitting the JUCO circuit with more of an emphasis. It's a cautious process because, according to Pittman, there is always a reason a player is in junior college. Those are wide-ranging.

Looking back at the 2023 class, Amaury Wiggins was the only player from the junior college ranks to sign with the Hogs. The 6-foot-3, 310 pound lineman committed to the Razorbacks over Texas A&M, Miami, Penn State and Illinois. After losing starting center Ricky Stromberg to the NFL Draft, the hope for Wiggins was him challenging to start at center. He's remained second team center behind starter Beaux Limmer this season. It's too early to call whether Wiggins will pan out, but the offer list speaks for itself.

College of the Canyons in California gave the Razorbacks their single junior college signee during the 2022 cycle in Taylor Lewis. The impressive defensive lineman held offers from the Arkansas, Auburn, Washington State, Oregon State and Nebraska before his commitment. Lewis' stay in Fayetteville wasn't a long though. He entered the transfer portal following the conclusion of the season. 

In the 2021 class, Arkansas had a loaded class with several significant additions including John Ridgeway, Cam Little, Raheim Sanders, Chris Paul, Cam Ball and several other future stars. None were from junior colleges. One piece the Razorbacks added from the JUCO ranks was Jalen Williams out of Jones College in Mississippi. Rated as the No. 3 defensive lineman in his class, he appeared to have one of the highest ceilings of any signee.

Williams' stay was short-lived as well. A back injury suffered during the spring of 2022 limited Williams, and he never cracked a lineman rotation which ranked Top 10 nationally in sacks. He eventually transferred to Southern Miss for the 2023 season, recording 28 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks.

The lone junior college prospect who had on-field success as a Razorback was Julius Coates from East Mississippi Community College. He stood at impressive 6-foot-7, 280 pounds and showed a solid burst coming off the edge in seven games during the 2020 season. Coates recorded 18 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks during the covid-shortened season and entered the transfer portal when it was over. He played for D-II Central Oklahoma as a junior in 2022.

Arkansas added a pair of offensive linemen during the 2019 recruiting cycle in Myron Cunningham and Chibueze Nwanna. Cunnningham had a solid career as the starting left tackle, leading the 2021 team to the most team rushing yards since 2007. Nwanna didn't experience the same success despite rating much higher coming out of the JUCO ranks. Nwanna never got on the field in Fayetteville. He stayed for two seasons before entering the transfer portal, committing to Charlotte in May of 2021.

Once Chad Morris was hired in December 2017, one of the biggest pluses to his tenure would be his eye in recruiting. That was displayed early on, especially with the first time early signing period in college football. Arkansas needed to receive a boost to its class and did so by signing JUCO prospects in running back Rakeem Boyd from Independence Community College and Dorian Gerald of College of the Canyons.

Both experienced plenty of playing time in their careers. Boyd entered the NFL Draft following the 2021 season. Gerald saw action in five seasons due to a pair of season ending injuries in 2019 and 2021.

During Bret Bielema's final signing class in 2017, Arkansas signed a quartet of junior college prospects, but only one panned out. The nation's No. 2 JUCO player, wide receiver Brandon Martin, was expected to be a difference maker right away for the Razorbacks.

After catching nine passes for 119 yards in 2017, he decided to transfer and look for a new start at Grand View University. Other additions in the class included top tight end Jeremy Patton, wide receiver Jonathan Nance and defensive lineman Gabe Richardson.

By the end of his career, Richardson was the only player remaining from the 2017 JUCO class. He started 11 of 12 games during the 2019 season as a senior. The former Hutchinson product recorded 33 tackles, 16 solo, with 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. 

Going back another recruiting cycle, the 2016 class saw four additions out of the JUCO ranks, headlined by defensive back Britto Tutt. Offensive lineman Paul Ramirez, defensive lineman Deion Malone and defensive end Michael Taylor failed to make an impact in a starting role during their careers. 

To close the look of the past 10 years, the 2014 class was the last to produce multiple starters. Linebacker Josh Williams, offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola and wide receiver Cody Hollister carved out either starting roles or received significant playing time at Arkansas.

Williams started four games as a senior in 2016, recording 46 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack. Tretola got his career off to a Heisman worthy start and finished as an NFL Draft pick. Hollister caught 27 passes for 342 yards and one touchdown during his Razorback career. Even though he might have lacked in a production standpoint in college, Hollister won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2019. The former Hog played six seasons in the NFL. He is currently a free agent after Tennessee failed to pick him back up as a restricted free agent in the offseason.

Going off pure numbers, the junior college route hasn't been as fruitful over the past decade. Out of 21 signees, Arkansas only had seven who were productive. The only player to make it to the NFL was Tretola, who was drafted by the Titans in the sixth round during the 2016 Draft.

HOGS FEED:

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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL OPENS 5-0 WITH WIN OVER CENTRAL ARKANSAS

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