BENTONVILLE — Garrett Kaufman had already planned to attend classes at Arkansas State in January, but he thought he wouldn’t sign his letter of intent until the following month.
That wasn’t the case. The Red Wolves had Jonesboro waiting for Bentonville’s senior inside linebacker when he arrived at school Wednesday morning, which is also the first day NCAA schools can sign junior college players.
“It caught me off guard, too,” Kaufman said. “I found out about it about 8:30 when the paperwork was sent to me by fax. I immediately signed it and sent it right back.”
Kaufman (6-foot-2, 220 pounds), who graduates this month, led Bentonville’s defense for the second consecutive season and earned all-state honors after recording 129 tackles (80 solos, 42 assists, four tackles for loss, three quarterback sacks), six pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. He orally committed to Arkansas State in the summer and never wavered when the Red Wolves changed head coaches from Gus Malzahn, who went to Auburn, to Bryan Harsin.
Kaufman said he spoke on the phone Wednesday afternoon to Harsin, who offered his congratulations while he was in the middle of practice.
“I’m excited about it,” Kaufman said. “I’m glad to have it out of the way, and I’m glad to have signed with Arkansas State. It’s a weight off my shoulders, and I can’t wait until I get there in January.”
Meanwhile, senior tailback Tearris Wallace announced his verbal commitment Wednesday to sign with Memphis. This came after he took his official visit Friday.
Wallace said Wednesday afternoon that he had made his decision to sign with Memphis in October, but he wanted to wait until the official visit before he released his decision.