Arkansas watching transfer portal, seeking defensive help

If you hadn’t noticed – and if you hadn’t, you’re probably not reading Razorbacks Wire – the Arkansas defense isn’t meeting expectations in 2022.

The Razorbacks are 112th in FBS in scoring, 120th in FBS in total defense, 128th in passing defense. Even the running defense, which is the best element on that side of the ball, ranks just 62nd.

Injuries have played a large role in the unit’s ineffectiveness. But so has roster construction. Depth has proven short because of those injuries. Coach Sam Pittman and defensive coordinator Barry Odom are largely working with players recruited under former coach Chad Morris, whose tenure led to the two worst seasons of Arkansas football in modern history.

Fixing the depth is step one as Pittman and his staff spend a lot of time on the recruiting trail during the bye week.

“We understand the portal is open and it will be open,” Pittman said. “We have to be ready for that. Somebody for, hopefully, immediate help. So, yeah, we would certainly do that and I think we’d be not very intelligent if we didn’t.”

Few spots remains for Arkansas’ Class of 2023. The Razorbacks have landed 23 hard commits for the group, per 247Sports. The class ranks as the No. 17-rated group in the country.

Mostly, though, Pittman said, the Hogs are finished recruiting high-school players. Two or three potential targets could still find their way to Fayetteville, but Arkanss will be combing the transfer portal in the winter especially to look for quick assistance.

“If we were going to take somebody that could be here in January right now, we would probably wait on the portal to see what goes on with that,” he said. “Unless one of these two or three guys we’re recruiting said they wanted to come then we’d certainly take them.”