The fifth in a series detailing the Arkansas football team by class
FAYETTEVILLE — We conclude our series on impact Arkansas Razorbacks for 2023 by class with the massive group of seniors, led by quarterback KJ Jefferson, who is likely to be a rare three-year captain.
Because there are no rules or limitations on this series, we’re doubling the count of impact players from the other classes to 10 for this installment.
Why? This is a huge class, populated by players from every spectrum of the senior designation — from fourth year to sixth year, from home grown to out of state, from career Razorbacks to one-year transfers.
This list will include some bonus-year seniors, which Coach Sam Pittman likes to refer to as “super seniors,” like legacy defensive end Zach Williams, who are taking advantage of the extra year allowed by the NCAA due to the covid-19 season of 2020.
It will also include fifth-year guys like Jefferson and offensive linemen Brady Latham and Beaux Limmer, and a group of fourth-year seniors such as Dwight McGlothern and Jashaud Stewart.
More from WholeHogSports: Previous installments of this series | What to expect from Memphis transfer Chandler Lawson
In this era of college football, of course, there’s a huge pack of transfer seniors that Arkansas fans will have to acquaint themselves with in the coming months because they are very likely to play huge roles. Some of them — like linebacker Antonio Grier, defensive ends Trajan Jeffcoat and John Morgan and receivers Andrew Armstrong, Tyrone Broden and Isaac TeSlaa — participated in the 15 practices of spring to learn the playbook and make depth chart moves.
Others of those seniors — like big Anthony Booker, AJ Braithwaite and Kelvie Rose — arrived after spring.
There are 29 players on the current roster designated as a senior of some stripe.
Half of the 16 fifth-year seniors have been Razorbacks throughout their college careers, making that bunch the backbone of the program almost throughout the Pittman Era. The scholarship players in that group are Jefferson, Latham, Limmer, defensive backs Malik Chavis and Hudson Clark, and defensive linemen Taurean Carter, Eric Gregory and Marcus Miller.
On to the countdown:
1. QB KJ Jefferson
Jefferson, who has become the face of the program, has a chance to break UA some career quarterback records, most notably touchdown passes, touchdown responsibility and completion percentage.
He’s probably a lock to represent the Razorbacks at SEC media days next month and to be a third-time team captain.
Arkansas’ first three-year starter at quarterback since current offensive coordinator Dan Enos tutored Brandon Allen in 2015, Jefferson has developed into one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks. The 6-3, 246-pounder has 48 career touchdown passes versus 10 interceptions for a pristine 4.8-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
The Sardis, Miss., native spent a week in San Diego training with George Whitfield Jr., a self-proclaimed “quarterback engineer” in an effort to maximize his lone season with Enos and prepare for the next level.
2. DB Dwight McGlothern
A second-year transfer from LSU, McGlothern held down a starting cornerback job throughout 2022 and racked up 52 tackles, 4 interceptions and 10 pass breakups. The 6-2, 190-pounder from Houston didn’t allow a touchdown until the loss to Liberty in Game 9.
Has a chance to ascend into the ranks of the nation’s top combo corners, a strong cover guy with 50-plus tackle
3. OL Beaux Limmer
Limmer had 28 career starts, all at right guard, until he started at center for the Razorbacks’ 55-53 triple-overtime win over Kansas in the Liberty Bowl last season.
Now the 6-5, 306-pounder from Tyler, Texas, one of the strongest Razorbacks since he joined the program, is prepared to move to center for his final season after Ricky Stromberg held down that spot the past four seasons.
4. OL Brady Latham
The 6-5, 310-pounder from Jenks, Okla., has started all 36 games the past three seasons and become a fixture at left guard.
Latham, who played 983 snaps last season, could move to left tackle if needed. Latham and Limmer need to bring the rest of the unproven linemen along with them for the offense to fire the way it should.
5. DB Hudson Clark
The former walk on, who splashed onto the scene with his three-interception game off Matt Corral in a homecoming win over Ole Miss in 2020, has developed into a mainstay in the Arkansas secondary. The 6-2, 185-pounder from Dallas has made 21 starts over the past three seasons and moved from cornerback to safety last year. His 67 tackles represent the most among all returning Razorbacks.
Clark, a Burlsworth Trophy nominee a year ago, was a first-team All-SEC choice by USA Today. His experience should be key in the secondary this season.
6. DL Zach Williams
The legacy defensive end from Little Rock, son of Razorback great Rickey Williams, is coming off a career year with 34 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Can he bring it up even another notch for what projects as a deep corps of edge rushers?
Williams did not run with the first unit a lot during spring drills, so the 6-4, 256-pounder will need to show up during camp to merit more time with the ones after starting six games last season.
7. LB Antonio Grier
The first first-year transfer on this list, Grier had a solid spring and played his way onto the first unit at linebacker to join Chris Paul there. Grier missed nine games due to injuries last season at South Florida, but posted 21 tackles, including 10 versus Florida, the season after leading the Bulls with 92 stops.
The presence of the 6-1, 223-pounder from Atlanta is sure to help Paul and other young linebackers like Jordan Crook and Mani Powell.
8. DL Eric Gregory
Gregory came back from arthroscopic knee surgery to play in the Liberty Bowl in his hometown of Memphis. Returning for his redshirt senior season was a huge get for the Hogs, as his experience as an inside-outside combo guy on the defensive interior will be super valuable.
The 6-4, 307-pounder with 19 career starts needs to improve on his 19-tackle season from a year ago, which included 2 sacks.
9. DL Taurean Carter
If Carter wasn’t coming off knee surgery, he would probably be a lot closer to Jefferson on this list. Carter said he began trusting the fitness of his knee around midway through spring, which is an important mental step in the rehab.
Carter was pushing interior linemen around in the spring of 2022 and seemed poised for a huge season before the injury. If he can regain that confidence and get back to dominance, the Arkansas defensive interior could be cooking this fall.
10. DL Trajan Jeffcoat
The Razorbacks landed a quality defensive end from Missouri out of the portal for the second time in three years following Tre Williams. Jeffcoat made 47 starts in his Missouri career with 85 tackles and 11.5 sacks.
The 6-4, 280-pounder from Columbia, S.C., was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2020 with six sacks as a redshirt sophomore. His production waned some last season, so a return to form in the Hogs’ deep defensive ends room would pay big dividends.
Wish we could rank
Cornerback LaDarrius Bishop got sidetracked by knee surgery early last year. The Ashdown native with 13 career starts in 34 games got back in the rotation about halfway through spring. Though there were times he showed frustration at not being able to fire and compete at the level he wanted to, Bishop stuck with it. Formerly one of the fastest Razorbacks, the cornerback rotation could use him this fall, particularly if Quincey McAdoo needs more time to rehab following his car wreck.
Also in consideration
Receivers Andrew Armstrong, Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden, tight end Nathan Bax, defensive ends John Morgan and Jashaud Stewart, defensive back Al Walcott
