Foucha enters portal, will play extra season elsewhere
Arkansas safety Joe Foucha has entered the transfer portal and will play his final season of college football elsewhere, he announced Wednesday.
The New Orleans native posted his decision on Twitter just a few days after the Razorbacks’ 24-10 win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl to conclude the 2021 season.
“To Coach Pittman and his staff, thank you for the continued support and development,” Foucha wrote in a statement on Twitter. “To every teammate that took me in as a brother and a friend, I am beyond thankful for you, and I will always cherish the memories we’ve made.”
He is the sixth senior to announce his decision regarding the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA in response to the pandemic in 2020 and the fifth to choose to leave the program.
Cornerback Montaric Brown and long snapper Jordan Silver have declared for the NFL Draft, while wide receiver Kendall Catalon has also entered the portal and running back Trelon Smith has shared he’s moving on. The only player coming back so far is right tackle Dalton Wagner.
A 5.7 three-star recruit out of McDonogh 35 High in New Orleans, Foucha started 34 games during his four seasons with the Razorbacks. Since signing in the 2018 class, he’s made 230 tackles and four interceptions.
Foucha picked off two of those passes - including one in the Outback Bowl - as a senior in 2021, when he finished fourth on the team with 73 tackles and was a team captain. He also had 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, five pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.
That performance led to a career-high 68.2 grade on 791 snaps from Pro Football Focus, continuing a steady improvement over his time with the Razorbacks. Foucha earned a 43.9 grade on 142 snaps as a freshman, improved it to a 51.2 on 757 snaps as a sophomore and then to a 64.0 on 633 snaps last year.
While his departure is a loss of 2,323 career snaps from the defense, the Razorbacks aren’t set to lose any of their others safeties from this season. Jalen Catalon previously announced he would come back to Arkansas instead of entering the NFL Draft and the others - primarily Myles Slusher, Simeon Blair and Malik Chavis - are underclassmen.
In addition to Foucha and Kendall Catalon pursuing other opportunities for their super senior seasons, 10 other non-seniors have also entered the portal since November. Running back Josh Oglesby entered in November, followed by defensive tackle Solomon Wright, kicker Vito Calvaruso, defensive tackle Andy Boykin, linebacker J.T. Towers, defensive back Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan, wide receiver Darin Turner and offensive lineman Ray Curry Jr. went in after the regular season.
Since the bowl game, defensive backs Nick Turner and Devin Bush have entered the portal, as have Foucha and Kendall Catalon. Interestingly, three of the Razorbacks’ four defensive backs in the portal - Foucha, Turner and Bush - are from New Orleans.
Arkansas is now awaiting the decisions of just three other seniors: offensive lineman Shane Clenin, linebacker Bumper Pool and defensive tackle John Ridgeway. Pool said in an interview with 103.7 The Buzz that he plans to announce his plans Friday.
Click here for an updated look at HawgBeat's projected scholarship distribution chart for the 2022 season.