College students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95! Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to andrewhutchinson413 (at) gmail (dot) com.
For the second time in a span of a few hours, Arkansas has lost a player to the transfer portal.
After defensive end Mataio Soli revealed his intentions Wednesday morning, quarterback Lucas Coley took to Twitter to make a similar announcement that afternoon.
“First, I would like to say thank you to the University of Arkansas,” Coley wrote. “Thank you to the coaching, nutrition and academic staff, and especially the welcoming Razorback fan base. I am entering my name into the Transfer Portal within the next hour.”
A three-star recruit out from San Antonio, Texas, Coley was part of the Razorbacks’ 2021 signing class. He picked them over offers from Illinois, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Washington State and several others.
However, the 6-foot-2 dual-threat quarterback redshirted during his lone season at Arkansas and never appeared in a game.
Although he has spent much of this spring splitting reps with walk-on transfer Cade Fortin, Coley’s departure once again puts a significant strain on the Razorbacks’ quarterback room.
KJ Jefferson is the unquestioned starter and a potential preseason All-SEC selection, but there isn’t a lot of depth behind him. Malik Hornsby, who entered and withdrew from the portal earlier this offseason, is the backup, but has also been getting reps at wide receiver.
In addition to Fortin, who began his career as a scholarship quarterback first at North Carolina and then South Florida, the only other quarterback currently on Arkansas’ roster is fellow walk-on Kade Renfro. However, the former Ole Miss scholarship quarterback tore his ACL in bowl practices and will miss an extended period of time.
That means the Razorbacks will have just three healthy quarterbacks to go through their last eight practices of spring ball, which includes an open practice/scrimmage on April 16. Even assuming the quickest recovery time for Renfro, that will still be the case in fall camp because Arkansas did not sign any quarterbacks in the 2022 class.
When Hornsby originally entered the portal, HawgBeat explored potential options for Arkansas’ quarterback depth in this piece. You can also click here to view our projected scholarship distribution for the 2022 team, which now sits at 81 players.
Head coach Sam Pittman has previously said the Razorbacks can add up to three more transfers in the 2022 class, so that would get them to 84. The remaining spot, and any addition ones that come open because of departures, must be filled by walk-ons who have been in the program for at least a year.
