Hog Futures: Jeremiah Ledbetter

Defensive lineman ‘just freaky athletic’

Arkansas defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter (55) takes the field during the Razorbacks' Red-White Game on Saturday, April 25, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter (55) takes the field during the Razorbacks' Red-White Game on Saturday, April 25, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

The ninth in a series profiling newcomers on the 2015 Arkansas Razorbacks football roster.

FAYETTEVILLE — Jeremiah Ledbetter went head over heels to make an an early impression on his new Arkansas teammates.

During his first week on campus in January, Ledbetter was among a group of offensive and defensive linemen preparing for a dead lift session with strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert. In an earlier group, kicker Lane Saling had planted a backflip to fire up the lifters and Herbert wanted to set a similar tone with the bigger-bodied players.

Jeremiah Ledbetter glance

CLASS Junior

HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-3, 275 pounds

POSITION Defensive line

AGE 21 (born June 2, 1994)

HOMETOWN Orlando, Fla.

HIGH SCHOOL Gainesville, Ga.

LAST STOP Hutchinson (Kan.) College

NOTEWORTHY Four-star prospect by Scout, Rivals and ESPN and an early Arkansas enrollee who participated in spring drills. … His father Weldon was a running back at Oklahoma in 1979-1982 and a seventh-round selection by Tampa Bay in the 1983 NFL Draft. His cousin Isaac Byrd was a receiver at Kansas and was taken by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 1997 NFL Draft. … Ranked No. 15 in Rivals’ junior college top 100 and No. 32 in the ESPN junior college top 100. Earned second-team NJCAA All-America honors as a sophomore and a first-team All-Jayhawk Conference selection at defensive end both seasons at Hutchinson (Kan.) College. … Had 15 1/2 sacks last season, the second-highest total in school history, and 22 1/2 sacks in two seasons, which also ranked second. … Named defensive MVP of the 2014 Salt City Bowl with 3 sacks and 10 tackles. Led Gainesville (Ga.) High Schoo to the Class AAA state semifinals as a senior nose guard in 2011. … Chose Arkansas over scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma State and South Alabama.

He had Saling in the room as a back-up plan when he posed the question.

“I said, ‘Can anybody here rip off a backflip?’ and I’m looking around and nobody says anything,” Herbert said. “All of a sudden I hear … ‘Coach, I can.’ Not a quiet voice, but a quieter voice. I turn around and it’s Leddy.

“He gets in the middle and everybody’s looking, like, this 275-pound dude can hit a backflip? My man launches — boom! — hits it, the group goes crazy and we have a great lift.”

Ledbetter had an encore the following week, performing what Herbert called a “Matrix” backflip, where Ledbetter ran at a wall, jumped and kicked off the wall and landed a flip.

“I’ve seen him do it in pads,” said Rion Rhoades, who was Ledbetter’s head coach the past two seasons at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.

“I knew I could do one,” said Ledbetter, a 6-3, 275-pounder who can play multiple positions on the defensive line. “I hadn’t done one in a long time, so my reaction was I was glad I landed it. With me being my body type and being a bigger guy, they didn’t think I could do it.”

Offensive line signee Zach Rogers saw the flips in person.

“He’s just freaky athletic and explosive,” Rogers said.

“Jeremiah is definitely going to be a big-time player,” offensive line signee Josh Allen said. “He’s strong, quick, athletic. He’s the first defensive tackle I’ve ever seen do a backflip.”

Ledbetter’s blend of power, speed and athleticism made him one of the top junior college defensive prospects in the nation last season.

“Like I tell these guys all the time, he takes the strength he has and converts it well into power,” Herbert said. “He’s a 280-pound guy who is strong and explosive at everything we do. Once he establishes a comfort level with what he’s being asked to do scheme-wise, he’ll do well because physically he’s a special guy.”

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and his staff beat out Florida, Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma State and others to land Ledbetter.

“My interest in the program was Coach B and his philosophy and what he stood for,” Ledbetter said. “I can see they’re about to do something special, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Ledbetter went through spring drills, beginning as a tackle then moving to end, where he finished spring behind Tevin Beanum at the rush end spot.

Ledbetter said position coach Rory Segrest’s plan to go two deep across the defensive front is practically in place.

“Yeah, I think we’re pretty much there,” he said. “We’ve still got some tweaking to do and some details to cover, but I think our two-deep should be pretty good.”

Ledbetter has followed a winding career path to make it to the SEC. He transferred from his high school in Orlando, Fla., to play his senior year at Gainesville (Ga.) High School. Then he signed with Hutchinson, where he redshirted as a freshman.

He was on the brink of signing with Oklahoma State after one year in junior college, but his grades forced him to stay in Kansas. He racked up 15 1/2 sacks and earned second-team NJCAA All-America status as a sophomore.

“He had a good first year, but I felt like he was a little bit under-recruited,” Rhoades said. “Then after that second year, he definitely got the attention he deserved.

“Led’s best days are in front of him. If he really invests himself 100 percent, I think he could be pretty special.”

Arkansas coaches feel the same way. Their plan this fall is to unleash Ledbetter in a variety of ways.

“The thing we’re going to do is get him the best matchup,” defensive coordinator Robb Smith said. “He’s a guy who is athletic enough and gives us flexibility.”

Senior defensive tackle DeMarcus Hodge said Ledbetter will prove to be very good.

“He’s a real fast, quick guy,” Hodge said. “He just needs to get more experience and adjust to this level, but I think he’ll be a real good player for us.”

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