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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas defensive end Mataio Soli has entered the transfer portal, he announced Wednesday morning via Twitter.
The former four-star recruit spent three seasons with the Razorbacks and started as a freshman in 2019, but struggled to find a spot in the defensive line rotation the last two years under current head coach Sam Pittman.
Through seven practices this spring, Soli was consistently working with the third-team defense despite Pittman’s public comments about searching for consistent pass rushers.
Soli is the son of former Arkansas All-SEC nose tackle and NFL Draft pick Junior Soli. Rated as a 5.8 four-star prospect coming out of Douglas County High in Douglasville, Ga., he picked his dad’s alma mater over numerous offers, including from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon and others.
An early-season injury to Dorian Gerald thrust him into action as a true freshman and Soli ended up starting 11 of 12 games in 2019. Playing much of the season with a broken right hand, which required him to essentially wear a club, he finished the year with 19 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and two quarterback hurries.
After playing 497 defensive snaps that season, Soli saw his playing time decrease to 213 snaps in 2020 and just 65 this past season. Over the last two years, he made only 11 tackles. That total includes 1.5 tackles for loss and half of a sack, which he notched against Rice.
The writing seemed to be on the wall that Soli would not receive much playing time as a senior. In addition to already being buried on the depth chart, the Razorbacks have also landed a pair of transfer defensive ends.
Landon Jackson from LSU is already on campus, but unable to go through spring ball because of an injury and Jordan Domineck from Georgia Tech will join the team this summer. Arkansas is also set to add four-star freshman Nico Davillier.
Soli's departure puts the Razorbacks at 82 scholarships for the 2022 season, according to HawgBeat's unofficial projection. Pittman has previously said they have room to add up to three more transfers in the current class, which would put them at 85.
That means any additional transfers before next season would need to be replaced by walk-ons who've been on the team for at least one year.
