football

Arkansas lands transfer defensive tackle Anthony "Tank" Booker Jr.

Maryland defensive lineman transfer Anthony "Tank" Booker Jr. committed to Arkansas on Wednesday.
Maryland defensive lineman transfer Anthony "Tank" Booker Jr. committed to Arkansas on Wednesday. (Maryland Athletics)

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Arkansas still needs transfer help in the trenches, and the Hogs got a boost as Maryland defensive lineman transfer Anthony "Tank" Booker Jr. announced his intention to join the Razorback program.

Booker made the announcement via his Twitter page on Wednesday.

The Cincinnati native is coming to Arkansas with two seasons to show he's got what it takes to make it to the NFL. He had been with Maryland since 2019.

Booker played in just three games his first season, 10 games his second and 12 last season. His best year was in 2022, when he tallied 25 tackles, four of those for loss and two sacks. He also deflected one pass and forced two fumbles.

In 2022, Booker's Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 77.1 was the second best of any Maryland defender. He had a 78.3 rush defense grade and a 66.1 pass rush grade across 234 total snaps.

Booker visited Arkansas on March 11 and chose the Razorbacks over Ohio State, South Carolina and Purdue. He is the 12th scholarship transfer to commit to the Razorbacks following the 2022 season.

A former 5.6 three-star prospect in the class of 2019, Booker originally chose Maryland over Cincinnati, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Notre Dame and others.

The 6-foot-4, 320-pound defensive tackle joins Missouri transfer Trajan Jeffcoat and Pittsburgh transfer John Morgan III — both of whom have been on campus for spring practices — as defensive line transfers to Arkansas ahead of the 2023 season.

Booker also provides much-needed depth to a thin Arkansas defensive tackle room that features redshirt senior Taurean Carter, redshirt senior Eric Gregory, redshirt senior Marcus Miller, redshirt sophomore Cam Ball and true freshman Ian Geffrard.

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