The start of Arkansas’ football season is 54 days away, and HawgBeat is going to help make time go by faster by ranking the 10 most important players for the Hogs this upcoming season.
Despite losing key players like Treylon Burks, Myron Cunningham, Montaric Brown, Grant Morgan and more, the Razorbacks returned a solid group of contributors. Along with that, they brought in players through the transfer portal and high school ranks that can make an impact during their first year in Fayetteville.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — One of the most intriguing players throughout Arkansas spring football was Alabama transfer linebacker Drew Sanders.
A former Rivals 6.0 four-star recruit, Sanders has the ability to work his way into being a first round draft pick by the time he is done at Arkansas. With no Grant Morgan or Hayden Henry, Sanders will work alongside Bumper Pool and others in the second level this season.
Razorback quarterback KJ Jefferson said he thinks Sanders is an important piece to the team.
“Drew Sanders, he's a huge asset to the team," Jefferson said after an open scrimmage on April 16. "He’s always around the ball, fast in space, makes plays, a guy that will come down in the box and hit you — thump you. Just him coming to Arkansas and just what he brings is awesome."
Coming out of Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, Sanders was rated by Rivals as the No. 37 player nationally, the No. 5 overall outside linebacker and the No. 5 prep prospect in Texas for the 2020 class. He chose the Crimson Tide over schools like Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon and Penn State
During two seasons in Tuscaloosa, Sanders recorded 33 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two pass deflections in 23 games.
He was primarily a special teams player during his freshman season, but excelled at it, earning special teams player of the week honors from the Alabama coaching staff twice.
As a sophomore, Sanders developed a role in the loaded Crimson Tide linebacking corps. He started three games and appeared in 12.
Through the first three games of his 2021 campaign, Sanders had 14 tackles and one tackle for loss. He recorded just 10 tackles for the remainder of the season, and worked primarily on special teams in the postseason.
Sanders will see his play time increase a lot with the Hogs this upcoming season, and there will be no shortage of tackles to be made. Arkansas fielded three linebackers — Pool, Morgan and Henry — that had at least 100 tackles last season, and Sanders is arguably more physically talented than all three of those guys.
Head coach Sam Pittman praised Sanders after he recorded at least one sack and caught up to backup quarterback Malik Hornsby on the edge during Arkansas' spring scrimmage on April 16.
"He's fast," Pittman said. "I mean, the guy can run...Today that was a 'wow' deal for me too, because I was like, Malik is out in the open and usually he's leaving everybody. I'm not saying Drew can outrun Malik, but he did thud him up...I think he's a pretty good player."
Sanders has also made an impression on his fellow linebackers. Redshirt freshman linebacker Chris "Pooh" Paul said he's been able to benefit from Sanders so far.
“Drew has been a great addition to the linebacker corps,” Paul said on April 14. “I’ve learned a lot of things from him as far as pass rushing moves, how to maneuver fast and how he moves around. He has taught me a lot of things and he’s been a blessing to come to this linebacker corps.”
Having someone that can not only be a great run stopper at linebacker, but someone who can drop back and stay stride for stride in coverage is very valuable. Sanders has a lot to prove, but he has the tangibles to be that type of player.
The success of Arkansas’ defense has started with great linebacker play under defensive coordinator Barry Odom, and now he has another big-time player in Sanders to help with that.
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