FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Last season was a tough all the way around for Arkansas as the team didn’t live up to expected team potential in 2023. Second year transfer Var’Keyes Gumms was expected to be a major piece in the tight end room last year, but was not consistently in the rotation.
Gumms was an All-American following his redshirt freshman season at North Texas in 2022. He played in all 14 games for the Mean Green, starting the last six, and caught 34 passes for 458 yards and five touchdowns.
His reception and yards total were tight end records at North Texas. Following the 2022 season, he entered the transfer portal and chose Arkansas in a close race with Cal.
There was certainly a traffic jam at tight end for Arkansas last season with true freshman Luke Hasz and redshirt freshman Ty Washington emerging as promising targets. Former walk-on Nathan Bax and Louisiville transfer Francis Sherman were used primarily for extra blockers for a struggling offensive line.
Now, he looks to shrug off a slow start with a solid training camp over the next few weeks.
“I just feel like coming in was rough for me with the transition and the transfer portal in general,” Gumms said. “So, I had stuff going on behind there. Soon as I got in and started being around the players and coaches more. Then, [Coach Bobby] Petrino came in with his offense -— he’s a cool coach.”
As for Petrino, his offense requires the tight ends to perform similarly to the professional level. Those concepts, although evolved over time, remain a focal point of the success of his unit.
Petrino’s history with tight ends like DJ Williams and Chris Gragg as featured pieces have not been forgotten about in Fayetteville. That gives Gumms, along with Hasz and Washington, a chance to shine this season with their new offensive system.
“I feel like learning this offense you’ll be ready for the pros,” Gumms said. “It’s so similar between here and the [NFL] that I feel our offense will be dangerous.
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Stuttgart, circa 1910: Mae and Ted Barnhart posed with their dog, the only one who seemed happy for the camera. Theodore Barnhart, born 1906, grew up to serve in the Navy during World War II, dying in 1952. Ted’s sister, Mae, born 1903 and passing in 1994, grew up to marry Charles Henry Dobbs.
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Kentucky had a need at wide receiver entering the only transfer portal window of the offseason. The Wildcats addressed the position again on Day 10. UK has added a second transfer to the room. This is a familiar name to those who follow recruiting.
Arkansas transfer Ja’Kayden Ferguson committed to the Wildcats after his visit to Lexington over the weekend. The wide receiver was a former UK commit who flipped to the Hogs during the 2025 recruiting cycle. Now Ferguson has flipped back to the Big Blue.
Ja’Kayden Ferguson was a three-star recruit out of Metro Houston who picked Kentucky following a June official visit ahead of the 2024 season. However, Ferguson decided to open up his recruitment five months later and flipped to Arkansas. The 6-foot-2 receiver appeared in six games for the Razorbacks as a true freshman and burned his redshirt. Ferguson played just 20 offensive snaps.
The SEC transfer becomes the eighth current full-time scholarship player in Kentucky’s current wide receivers room. Some more additions are expected.
| Player | Position | High School | Former School | Year |
| Olaus Alinen | G/T (6-6, 322) | Windson (Conn.) The Loomis Chaffee School | Alabama | Redshirt Junior |
| Jesse Anderson | S (6-0, 180) | Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons | Pittsburgh | Redshirt Junior |
| Max Anderson | iOL (6-5, 311) | Frisco (Texas) High | Tennessee | Redshirt Sophomore |
| Elijah “Bo” Barnes | LB (6-1, 244) | Dallas (Texas) Skyline | Texas | Redshirt Freshman |
| Jovantae Barnes | RB (6-0, 211) | Las Vegas (Nev.) Desert Pines | Oklahoma | Redshirt Senior |
| Ahmad Breaux | iDL (6-3, 278) | Ruston (La.) High | LSU | Junior |
| Jordan Castell | S (6-2, 213) | Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange | Florida | Senior |
| Xavier Daisy | WR (6-3, 210) | Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian School | UAB | Junior |
| Ja’Kayden Ferguson | WR (6-2, 187) | Missouri City (Texas) Thurgood Marshall | Arkansas | Sophomore |
| Aaron Gates | Nickel (6-0, 198) | Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian | Florida | Redshirt Junior |
| Jamarrion Harkless | iDL (6-3, 315) | Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass | Purdue | Redshirt Junior |
| Lance Heard | T (6-6, 330) | Monroe (La.) Neville | LSU | Tennessee | Senior |
| Mark Manfred III | CB (6-1, 175) | Marietta (Ga.) Sprayberry | Missouri | Redshirt Freshman |
| Kenny Minchey | QB (6-2, 208) | Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II | Notre Dame | Redshirt Junior |
| Antonio O’Berry | EDGE (6-6, 240) | Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne | Tiffin (D-II) | Gardner-Webb | 6th-Year Senior |
| Coleton Price | iOL (6-3, 318) | Bowie (Texas) High | Baylor | Redshirt Senior |
| Spencer Radnoti | LS (6-3, 230) | Canton (Ga.) Cherokee | Georgia State | Redshirt Sophomore |
| Cyrus Reyes | S (6-1, 200) | Taylor (Texas) High | Mississippi State | Junior |
| Hasaan Sykes | CB (6-0, 185) | Tuckert (Ga.) High | Western Carolina | Junior |
| Tavion Wallace | LB (6-1, 239) | Baxley (Ga.) Appling County | Arkansas | Sophomore |
| Dominic Wiseman | iDL (6-2, 300) | Davenport (Iowa) High | South Alabama | Redshirt Senior |
| Adam Zouagui | K (5-11, 188) | Herndon (Va.) High | Davidson | South Florida | Senior |
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