Hogs Miss on 4-star JUCO Linebacker Lakia Henry, What It Means for 2019
The no. 1 JUCO linebacker prospect in the nation, Lakia Henry, looked to be Fayetteville bound right up until two hours before he was due to make his announcement between Arkansas, Ole Miss and Texas. Matt Luke and the Rebels pulled off the coup, or maybe they were the silent leaders all along, but it sure didn't seem that way this past weekend when the Hogs hosted Henry for a final unofficial visit just 72 hours before Signing Day.
What It Means
No point crying over split milk but this decision does impact the 2019 class in a major way, and more specifically, the 2019 roster. Henry was a shoe-in for at least the two deep next season next to De'Jon Harris but now the Hogs will have just eight scholarship linebackers if they do not reel in Chris Russell at 4 p.m. today, and the chances look slim as of 1 p.m.
Despite losing Henry at the 11th hour, the Razorbacks are still due to sign 13 4-stars in the 2019 class, which is more quality depth than they've ever signed in one class before. A third of the 2019 roster will be true freshmen.
The Hogs have just one 2019 linebacker signed for the class, 4-star Zach Zimos out of Houston, Texas. These are the scholarship linebackers for 2019:
De'Jon Harris - seniorDeon Edwards - redshirt juniorGiovanni LaFrance - redshirt juniorGrant Morgan - redshirt juniorHayden Henry - juniorBumper Pool - sophomoreAndrew Parker - redshirt freshmanZach Zimos - freshman
Check out the full projected 2019 scholarship distribution here.
Next Move
The Hogs could move 3-star defensive end Zach Williams back to linebacker but that move wouldn't have much of an impact on 2019 as Williams isn't ready for SEC competition just yet.
The more likely move for the Razorbacks is going after some immediately eligible transfer linebackers. There are two immediately eligible inside linebackers in the portal, Iowa's Aaron Mends and Nevada's Gabriel Sewell, and there are two outside linebackers available, Tennessee's Austin Smith and USC's Oluwole Betiku.
Stay locked on HawgBeat for more Signing Day coverage including Chad Morris's press conference at 2 p.m. and Chris Russell's announcement at 4 p.m.
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