Arkansas had two big recruiting victories on the first day of the month-long junior college signing period on Dec. 15 by landing the nation’s best junior college tight end and top-rated wide receiver, but it missed out on a third big recruit that could have helped defensively.
The two junior college offensive pick-ups were Gulf Coast Mississippi Community College wideout Brandon Martin (6-foot-4, 225 pounds, 4.37 seconds 40 yards) and Arizona Western tight end Jeremy Patton (6-6, 248), both the top recruits at their positions per ESPN.com.
Blinn (Texas) College defensive lineman Javier Edwards (6-3, 350) chose Colorado over Arkansas, Ole Miss, Florida, UNLV and others.
Edwards had earlier been committed to Florida and then announced the Razorbacks as his leader, but in the end decided on the Buffaloes.
It is a big loss for Arkansas, which is tinkering with the idea of implementing a 3-4 defense next season, and a big win for Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre, whose team already runs a 3-4.
“Javier is an athletic, big nose tackle that will work perfect in our 3-4 defense,” MacIntrye said in a release. “We are excited about having him here at the University of Colorado.”
Edwards has two years of eligibility remaining and chose the Buffaloes on the same day Colorado’s defensive coordinator and Broyles Award finalist Jim Leavitt, announced he was leaving for Oregon.
Watching tape of Edwards shows a disruptive player with quick feet for his size, a massive punch off the ball and the ability to draw traffic and free others.
So where does Arkansas go from here after losing a guy that would have enrolled in January and gone through spring drills?
To start with, the Razorbacks flipped Tulsa (Okla.) Union linebacker Kyrie Fisher (6-2, 235) from Minnesota just a few days later even after Michigan State offered and Texas entered the picture late.
He becomes one of 10 mid-term enrollees for Arkansas out of 21 signees or commits
“It has always been my goal to come into college and start so coming in early I get to go through spring practice and I get to go on the weight program and I get to learn the defense so that just a big head start,” Fisher said. “That is going to be the best chance for me to start early.”
Defensive coordinator Robb Smith was his lead recruiter while Razorback coach Bret Bielema and linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves were also involved.”
“Coach Robb called us a lot and we talked a lot and Coach B is a great guy,” Fisher said. “I love Coach Hargreaves. Really everybody. Arkansas has a great staff and I can’t wait to get over there and see what they do with me.”
The Razorbacks have brought in Riverside CC defensive tackle Melvin Johnson (6-5, 280), who was just named a first-team JUCO all-American. Johnson had 37 tackles and a sack this season, and nine tackles for loss. He is not a mid-term graduate, however, and wouldn’t sign until February.
Arkansas is also known to be recruiting defensive tackle Malik Young,(6-3,
280) of Eastern Arizona College.
The Razorbacks have one commitment for the defensive line in its 2017 class in Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep defensive tackle Troy James (6-4, 270), a prospect it landed over Oklahoma, Arizona and others.
Seven of Arkansas’ 2017 pledges are on defense with safety Montaric Brown (6-1, 180); safety/ linebacker Derrick Munson (6-0, 200); linebacker Josh Paul (6-2, 205); cornerbacks Jordon Curtis (6-2, 185), Jarques McClellion (6-1,
180) and Korey Hernandez (5-11, 175); and James.
“We have to add some priority defenders to close out this class,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. “That is a must.”
The Razorbacks have a trio of defensive linemen who redshirted this year. Briston Guidry (6-3, 294) and Jonathan Marshall (6-5,
300) are defensive tackles, and Michael Taylor (6-3,
245) is a defensive end who arrived from Riverside (Calif.) City College in August.
Other returning linemen next season include senior Bijhon Jackson (6-2, 335); senior Tevin Beanum (6-4, 251); redshirt senior Karl Roessler (6-1, 256); redshirt sophomores T.J. Smith I(6-3, 285), Armon Watts (6-5,
253) and Daytrieon Dean (6-3, 281); as well as rising sophomores McTelvin Agim (6-3, 289) and Austin Capps (6-4, 309), who both received substantial playing time as true freshmen.
Agim was a member of the SEC’s all-freshman team.
Dudley E. Dawson is the recruiting editor for Hawgs Illustrated magazine.
“Coach Robb called us a lot and Coach B is a great guy. I love Coach Hargraves. Really everybody.”
— Kyrie Fisher linebacker