Arkansas received more help out of the transfer portal Monday with the addition of Cincinnati linebacker transfer Jaheim Thomas.
Thomas, who comes to Arkansas with two seasons of eligibility remaining, announced his commitment to the Hogs on his Twitter account.
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound linebacker spent three seasons with the Bearcats, and helped Cincinnati to its first College Football Playoff appearance in 2021. In three seasons, Thomas has racked up 95 tackles, those of those for loss, and 2.5 sacks.
Thomas' 70 tackles in 2022 ranked third on the Bearcats and he was second with 6.5 tackles for loss to go along with two sacks. He appeared in all 13 games and rotated with the first team at linebacker. He played 33 snaps and recorded seven total tackles in the Bearcats' Week 1 loss at Arkansas.
According to Pro Football Focus, Thomas graded out with a career-best 74.7 overall grade in 2022. He added an 80.6 grade in run defense and an 84.1 pass rush grade on the season.
The Ohio native was ranked a 5.8 four-star recruit in the class of 2020 and he committed to Cincinnati over LSU, Kentucky and others. He entered the transfer portal on April 16. He was also rated a four-star transfer player and the No. 127 player in the portal according to Rivals.
Thomas is the second linebacker transfer for Arkansas, joining South Florida transfer Antonio Grier. He is the eighth defensive transfer addition since the end of the 2022 season for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas Linebacker Scholarship Distribution
~ Antonio Grier Jr. - super senior
~ Jaheim Thomas - redshirt junior
~ Chris Paul Jr. - redshirt sophomore
~ Mani Powell - sophomore
~ Jordan Crook - sophomore
~ Kaden Henley - redshirt freshman
~ %Carson Dean - freshman
~ %Brad Spence - freshman
~ %Alex Sanford - freshman
