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Arkansas has dipped into the portal again for more depth at quarterback.
A few days after backup Malik Hornsby withdrew his name from the portal, South Florida transfer Cade Fortin announced he’d finish his career with the Razorbacks on Monday. He will be a walk-on.
It is a move similar to what Arkansas did last year, bringing in Kade Renfro - who was on scholarship at Ole Miss - as a walk-on transfer quarterback, and it was one head coach Sam Pittman hinted at last month.
The Razorbacks did not sign a high school quarterback in the 2022 class because the staff felt it would help them land a high-profile one the following year and they liked the depth they already had.
KJ Jefferson emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC this season and is the undisputed starter, plus Arkansas had Hornsby, Renfro and Lucas Coley behind him on the depth chart. However, Renfro went down with a torn ACL in practice last month, leaving the Razorbacks with only three quarterbacks.
The situation became even more dire when Hornsby decided to leave, but he changed his mind and returned to the team a week later. Even with him back in the fold, though, Arkansas likely needed another quarterback because Renfro could miss the 2022 season as he recovers from surgery.
Fortin enters the mix with four career starts - all against Power Five competition - under his belt.
He was a 5.6 three-star recruit coming out of North Gwinnett High in Suwanee, Ga., and was an early Texas A&M commit before decommitting in wake of Kevin Sumlin being fired. Fortin ultimately signed with North Carolina over a solid list of offers that also included Cal, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and others.
As a true freshman with the Tar Heels, Fortin retained his redshirt by appearing in only four games, but that included starts against Virginia Tech and N.C. State. He earned grades of 69.8 and 75.1, respectively, from Pro Football Focus in those games and ended the season having completed 32 of 65 passes for 388 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
With highly touted quarterback Sam Howell coming in the next year, Fortin entered the transfer portal before the 2019 season and - after official visits to Syracuse, Kansas and Vanderbilt - eventually landed at South Florida.
Fortin battled an injury his first year with the Bulls, but managed to get on the field in five games during the 2021 season, including starts against North Carolina State and Florida to open the year.
Over the last two seasons, he was 29 of 56 passing for 222 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He hasn’t been much of a runner in college, but does have 152 yards and two scores on 27 career carries. According to PFF, Fortin has played 281 career snaps.
Although he’ll be a fifth-year senior in 2022, Fortin could technically play two years at Arkansas because of the NCAA’s eligibility relief granted for the 2020 season in response to the pandemic.
By retaining Hornsby and adding Fortin to go along with Jefferson and Coley, the Razorbacks will likely be able to avoid needing to move Landon Rogers back to quarterback. Pittman has said they like his potential as a tight end or wide receiver and really didn’t want to hinder his development at those positions.
Also, bringing in Fortin as a walk-on allows Arkansas to address that depth issue without burning one of its few remaining scholarships for 2022. After landing two more transfers Sunday, it has just three more spots left, assuming unsigned safety commit Myles Rowser signs in February, as expected.
