BREAKING: Arkansas lands transfer DT from Arkansas State
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Arkansas didn't have to leave its borders for portal help to bolster its defensive tackle group.
Less than a week after picking up an offer, Arkansas State transfer Terry Hampton committed to the Razorbacks during an official visit to Fayetteville this weekend. He'll be a super senior with one year of eligibility in 2022.
The El Dorado native spent the last four years in Jonesboro after signing with the Red Wolves as a 5.5 three-star recruit in the 2018 class, but opted to pursue his extra year of eligibility elsewhere.
After entering the portal, he picked up offers from Houston, Utah State, SMU, Oregon State, Western Kentucky, Illinois and Texas Tech, in addition to his home state Razorbacks.
Listed at 6-foot, 293 pounds on last year's Arkansas State roster, Hampton appeared in 36 games during his time with the Red Wolves, including 19 starts.
In 2020, he started all 11 games and racked up 35 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks while earning a solid 67.8 grade from Pro Football Focus on 595 snaps.
Hampton posted a 66.9 grade on 310 snaps this season before going down with a season-ending injury last season. Prior to getting hurt, he was a workhorse for Arkansas State, averaging 57.4 snaps over the first five games of the season.
He'll be the second player to make the jump from one corner of the state to the other in recent years. Cornerback Jerry Jacobs transferred from Arkansas State to Arkansas in 2020, but played only a handful of games before opting out.
The addition is not surprising because head coach Sam Pittman has been open about his desire to use at least two of his remaining three spots in the 2022 class on transfer defensive linemen.
During spring ball, the Razorbacks had only four scholarship defensive tackles -- Isaiah Nichols, Taurean Carter, Cam Ball and Marcus Miller -- and they didn't sign any from the high school ranks.