Since the great shift with NIL and the Transfer Portal happened in College Football, Sam Pittman and Arkansas football have made their living with transfers. Since Pittman's first season as Arkansas football's head coach, Arkansas has gone from bringing in six transfers in 2021 to 31 in this past cycle.
Some of the transfers that have come to the Hill don't pan out, but on occasion, they become stars. For instance, last season, transfers led the Hogs in passing, rushing, receiving, tackles, and sacks. In fact, since 2021, transfers have led Arkansas sacks every year, and have been No. 1 in receiving and tackles three of the last four years.
With the negative trend in high school recruiting paired with the growing number of outgoing transfers, the portal will continue to be the lifeline of the program for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, let's take a look back at the 10 best transfers to come through Arkansas since the Transfer Portal opened.
Arkansas football top 10 transfers additions
Starting off incredibly strong is Hillsdale College transfer Isaac TeSlaa. An underutilized athletic freak, TeSlaa became a great second option for K.J. Jefferson and Taylen Green despite having little production to show on the field. However, his performance in the 2025 NFL Combine was enough to earn him a spot on his hometown team's draft board, the Detroit Lions.
Arkansas' current quarterback, Taylen Green, can very easily shoot up these rankings with improvement from last season. But 2024 alone was enough to break the top 10. Statistically, he had one of the best seasons for a QB in Arkansas football history. All he missed were the touchdowns to be considered 'elite'.
Another QB, but often overlooked due to the 2020 COVID-19 season results, is Feleipe Franks. Perhaps no one faced as much adversity as a transfer as Franks. He was the first post-Chad Morris era QB to wear the Cardinal and White, and he had to do it facing the toughest schedule in the history of college football. Still, he led the Razorbacks to their first win over an SEC opponent since 2017 against Mississippi State, and two more against Ole Miss and Tennessee. And let's not forget that Arkansas really should've won at Auburn that year, too.
Recently, Arkansas' linebackers have been the backbone of the Razorbacks' defense. Since Grant Morgan and Bumper Pool led the way in 2020 and 2021, transfers have taken the reins. The latest is former Georgia Bulldog Xavian Sorey. A former 5-star prospect, he instantly became a key piece to the defense.
In 2024, he led the Hogs with 99 tackles, including 41 unassisted. He also had an interception and two sacks. Fortunately, he chose to return for another year and, like Taylen Green, could rise even higher on the list.
The Vanilla Gorilla. John Ridgeway became the first 'diamond in the rough' transfer addition for the Razorbacks, coming out of Illinois State. When he committed, not many gave him a second thought. However, by the end of the season, he was a household name in the Natural State. He led the defensive line in tackles with 39 in 2021, and he had the second-most sacks among the big fellas up front.
At first, Matt Landers had a confidence problem at the beginning of the 2022 season. In the first five games of the season, Landers broke 50 yards receiving only once against Missouri State, and he failed to bring in a single touchdown reception. But that didn't stop him from finishing the season as the Razorbacks' No. 1 receiver in yards and touchdowns.
In his sixth game against BYU, something clicked, and the Toledo transfer brought in three touchdowns and fell just shy of the centennial mark at 99 yards. He eclipsed 100 yards three times after the game against the Cougars and brought in five more scores before the season ended.
Arkansas struck gold at cornerback with Dwight McGlothern. He showed glimpses of greatness at LSU, but really bloomed as a Razorback. He led the Hogs in interceptions and the second-most pass deflections in 2022 and 2023. Even more impressively, he was left on an island more often than not. In his first season, he made 52 tackles, only nine of which were assisted. The following season, his tackles decreased significantly as teams avoided targeting him. However, out of his 20 tackles, 19 were solo.
Arkansas was blessed on the defensive front over the last few seasons. One player in particular who gave the Hogs an edge was Landon Jackson. He led Arkansas in sacks the last two seasons and became a nightmare for opposing offensive tackles. Just ask No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell out of LSU.
Along with TeSlaa, Jackson blew up during the NFL combine and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Andrew Armstrong was another experimental transfer addition that took off like a jet. He led the Hogs in receiving in 2023 and 2024, but the latter season was outstanding. Armstrong didn't come by touchdowns easily in his final year at Arkansas, only grabbing one against LSU, but he outpaced the rest of the SEC in receiving yards with 1,140. He also had five games with 128 yards or more.
Honorable mentions:
Jordan Domineck (2022)
Fernando Carmona (2024)
Tre Williams (2021)
Trelon Smith (2019)
Lorandon 'Snaxx' Johnson (2023)
2022 might have been the best year for transfers at Arkansas, but there's one that takes the cake. Drew Sanders came to Arkansas from Alabama and brought with him a taste of the buffet of talent the Crimson Tide hoards every year. He was the foundation of Barry Odom's defense and finished first in tackles with 103, first in sacks with 9.5, and third in passes deflected.
Early in the season, it was apparent that Sanders was a special talent, specifically with his performance against South Carolina, where he racked up 11 tackles, eight solo, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a pass deflection.