FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas junior safety Kam Curl announced on Thursday he would be declaring early for the NFL Draft.
Curl announced his decision with a Twitter post, writing in part, “My time at Arkansas has been some of the best days of my life. I will be a Hog for the rest of my life and will never forget my time at Arkansas. There is no doubt that the best fans in America are in Fayetteville, Arkansas.”
Curl turned in perhaps the best seasons among Arkansas defenders, ranking fourth on the team with 76 tackles from his strong safety spot, and tying linebacker De’Jon Harris for the team lead with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He returned one of those forced fumbles for a tackle-breaking 69-yard touchdown at Ole Miss in Week 2.
His grade of 87.6 from Pro Football Focus (PFF) was the highest on the Arkansas roster, earning him an All-SEC second team selection by PFF.
The 6-2, 198-pounder from San Diego who finished his prep career in Muskogee, Okla., also had 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 2 pass breakups in 11 games. Curl missed the 24-14 loss to Missouri in the season finale due for an unspecified reason.
Curl posted 46 tackles and eight pass breakups while starting the final 11 games of the 2017 season as a freshman cornerback following a season-ending pectoral injury for Ryan Pulley. He moved to safety in 2018 and posted 53 tackles and five breakups in 11 starts before being suspended for the season finale along with Pulley after the two defensive backs were socializing with members of the Mississippi State dance team the week before.
Arkansas junior running back Rakeem Boyd has not made an announcement regarding the NFL Draft, but he is also expected to declare early.
Boyd ranked fifth in the SEC and 28th in the FBS with 1,133 rushing yards last season. He scored eight rushing touchdowns and averaged 6.2 yards per carry.