The spring football period officially came to a close at the end of April. While the spring game was canceled due to inclement weather, Arkansas football ended it with an explosion in the transfer portal. But was the effort in the transfer portal good enough to counteract the exodus of players at the season's end? Not according to ESPN.
ESPN ranks Arkansas' offseason in the bottom of the SEC
The sports media outlet released rankings of every Power Four team, depicting how their offseasons went. First, ESPN ranked each conference, and at the end of the article, they ranked the top 10 teams overall according to their offseasons. Arkansas wasn't dead last in the SEC, but it was close, ranking No. 15. Only Mississippi State had a worse offseason than the Razorbacks.
The amount of quality players who left after the season hurt the Hogs in the rankings, but one of the main reasons Arkansas is ranked so low has to do with uncertainty. Yes, on paper, the incoming freshman and portal additions aren't replacing the outgoing players in terms of talent. Luke Hasz, Landon Jackson, and the leading receiver in the SEC, Andrew Armstrong, would be nearly impossible to replace. Even then, the portal class lacks the pizzazz it has in the past.
Here's what Bill Connelly had to say about Arkansas' offseason:
"It's a make-or-break year for Pittman in Fayetteville, and it's unclear whether he made the right portal moves or simply made a lot of them. The season—and the fate of Pittman's tenure—could come down to whether the attempted upgrades in the receiving corps and secondary come up big."
That doesn't mean a portal player can't surprise people—take Armstrong, for example. Coming from the FCS ranks, Armstrong wasn't exactly the most attractive WR in the portal, but in two years, he's one of the best in the SEC. But it's not necessarily a matter of who but what positions Arkansas built in the portal.
Most notably, the offensive line has been completely revamped. The Razorbacks lose Patrick Kutas, Addison Nichols, and Joshua Braun but gain a former four-star prospect in Shaq McRoy, last season's highest pass-blocking grade Corey Robinson II, and a true center in Caden Kilter. It's hard to gauge how much the changes have helped without the spring game but reports out of fall camp have been nothing but glowing.
It'll be a learning curve, especially at wideout after the Razorbacks' top three receivers left for the draft or via the portal. However, as long as Taylen Green has time to throw, Bobby Petrino's offense will find them.
The one area where the coaching staff missed was at the defensive line. With Jackson, Keivie Rose, and Eric Gregory heading to the NFL, it'll be hard to build back the depth, let alone the quality. So, to say that ESPN underrates Arkansas isn't quite fair. However, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Hogs overperform the sports media giant's predictions.
ESPN's offseason SEC rankings
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Auburn
- Texas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Texas A&M
- Alabama
- Missouri
- South Carolina
- Ole Miss
- Vanderbilt
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Mississippi