FAYETTEVILLE -- Who are the top Arkansas Razorback football players, sorted by class, heading into the 2023 season?
It's a fun summer project that we at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette have been contemplating for a while and decided to put into action this year.
There are some Razorbacks who you know will automatically bolt toward the top of the list in their respective classes, such as senior quarterback KJ Jefferson and junior tailback Raheim "Rocket" Sanders, but those non-spoiler giveaways will be forthcoming as the series proceeds.
There could be some surprises along the way as well, and maybe some projections based more on observations during spring practices as opposed to on-field objectivity.
When starting a project like this, there's always the consideration of how to break down the classes. For instance, nowadays there are three groupings of seniors: super seniors (those taking advantage of their bonus covid-19 season like Zach Williams), fifth-year seniors (of which Jefferson and offensive linemen Brady Latham and Beaux Limmer are part) and fourth-year seniors (like cornerback Dwight McGlothern and defensive lineman Jashaud Stewart).
And on the other end of the experience spectrum, there are different groups of freshmen. There are true freshmen, many of whom went through spring ball like the highly-regarded tight end Luke Hasz. Then there are redshirt freshmen like receiver Isaiah Sategna and tight end Ty Washington, who have been with the Razorbacks for a full season, and a guy like Jaheim Singletary, the No. 8 cornerback prospect in the country in 2022 who played in three games last season for national champion Georgia.
The best option seemed to keep it simple: Just one set of rankings for each class, regardless of redshirt, bonus year, transfer or any other kind of status.
Over the next several days, we will present a list of the top five Razorbacks in each class. Some of the groupings proved very difficult to rank, particularly the loaded class of seniors.
We'll start the series with the only curveball, one that seems appropriate in the quickly advancing age of the transfer portal. That would be our projections of the top impact transfers, regardless of classification.
As an example, players who would have ranked well in this category a year ago would be linebacker Drew Sanders, cornerback Dwight McGlothern, defensive lineman Jordan Domineck and receivers Jadon Haselwood and Matt Landers.
Some of these players could wind up in the class-by-class rankings, but that is not as likely as they are up against established Arkansas players. Additionally, a solid number of the transfers came after spring ball, thus missing out on the all-important eye test.
Also, look for bonus content, such as the "player we wish we could rank" in each class and other nuggets.
Without further ado, on to the list of the transfer players we think could have the biggest impact:
1. CB Lorando Johnson
The cornerback who goes by the nickname "Snax" wears jersey No. 1 and he rose to a starting position fairly quickly during spring drills.
Johnson had his ups and downs in coverage drills early, but he settled in and made his mark before the halfway point of the 15 spring practices. He even made a media appearance late in spring and told the story of how eating Hot Cheetos out of a gym bag earned him his nickname as a freshman at Baylor.
He and 2022 transfer Dwight McGlothern have the opportunity to rank among the leaders in SEC cornerback duos this fall.
2. LB Antonio Grier
The transfer from South Florida originally announced his plan to head to Central Florida last December, but that was before Golden Knights defensive coordinator Travis Williams made the move to join Sam Pittman's staff at Arkansas.
Grier, who racked up 92 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions in 2021, played in four games last season, preserving a year of eligibility.
Listed at 6-1, 228 pounds, Grier looks shorter than that in person, but he arrives at tackle scenes with a wallop. He could be heard on the sideline during the spring constantly immersed in play calls and checks to be able to play fast in Williams' schemes.
3. DL Trajan Jeffcoat
The transfer from Missouri could catapult up this chart based on some of the previous work earlier in his career.
Jeffcoat, a native of Columbia, S.C., should be motivated to have a big senior season. He was part of the defensive end group that Pittman touted as being deep and talented. Specifically talking about Jeffcoat, Pittman said the 6-4, 280-pounder had proved very hard to block.
4. WR Isaac TeSlaa
One of a large group of transfer wideouts, TeSlaa's first couple of days of spring looked a little shaky as he made the big leap up in competition from Hillsdale (Mich.) College.
Before long, Sam Pittman was talking about the consistency of his pass catching and his improvements in knowing and understanding the playbook. By the end of spring, the 6-4, 214-pounder was routinely making highlight reel grabs and impressive one-hand catches.
5. WR Andrew Armstrong
This 6-4, 201-pound redshirt senior could basically be paired with TeSlaa in terms of expected contributions, body type and moving up in level of competition from Texas A&M-Commerce.
Armstrong suffered a knee injury in a collision with fellow wideout transfer Tyrone Broden during the first week of drills. He showed his toughness by coming back that day and fighting through that pain, which he described as being "the hurtest I've ever been and that isn't even a word," making him an instant favorite with media types.
Player we wish we could rank:
LB Jaheim Thomas
It stands to reason the 6-4, 245-pound transfer from Cincinnati, who had 7 tackles against the Hogs in a 31-24 loss in last season's opener, will have a chance to break into the two-deep for coordinator and position coach Travis Williams. Thomas, who notched 70 tackles last season, transferred to the Razorbacks in May, after spring practices.
Also in contention
Defensive end John Morgan III, defensive back Al Walcott, defensive lineman Anthony Booker, tight end Var'keyes Gumms, defensive back Jaheim Singletary