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National Signing Day has now come and gone, with the Razorbacks signing 20 high school players and landing five transfers for the Class of 2020.
In addition to those who have signed scholarships for the Hogs, several others have accepted preferred walk-on spots made offered by head coach Sam Pittman and his staff.
A healthy walk-on class is beneficial for any NCAA team for many reasons, but it could prove more beneficial for the Razorbacks as Pittman and his staff work to rebuild and revive the program.
Here is a closer look at several players who will further their careers as preferred walk-ons at Arkansas.
WR BEAU CASON
Arkansas extended a late PWO offer to Shiloh Christian wide receiver Beau Cason on May 9 and Cason accepted that offer on May 14. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound wideout claims a 4.6 40-yard dash time and racked up 51 passes for 722 yards and nine touchdowns in his senior season. Cason is teammates with fellow PWO WR Truitt Tollett. Cason also had PWO offers from Coastal Carolina, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, and opportunities to play at Mary Hardin-Baylor, Army and Hendrix College.
RB DONTE BUCKNER
Buckner, 5-foot-11, 185, was a key piece to the White Hall Bulldog’s run to the Class 5A semi-finals in 2019, and had a host of schools showing him interest including Virginia Tech as a walkon, Ohio Western, Northeastern State and more.
Buckner had 205 carries for 1635 yards and 24 touchdowns while going 1-for-1 passing for 28 yards. He also had 5 kickoff returns for 117 yards and a TD, and was an All-State selection.
QB BRADEN BRATCHER
Pulaski Academy quarterback Braden Bratcher is the latest in-state athlete to accept a preferred walk-on offer from Arkansas. He was headed to SMU on a PWO offer until Kendal Briles and Sam Pittman offered him a spot in late February. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to play for the Hogs and announced his final decision on March 11.
Bratcher is 6-foot and 185 pounds with a 4.0 GPA. Leading his team to a third straight state championship, Bratcher also led the nation in passing yards with 5,196 yards, 51 touchdowns and a 68% completion percentage. He passes up a scholarship offer to East Central to be a Razorback.
ATH CHRIS HARRIS
Harris is an interesting prospect with an interesting story. Despite sitting out all but four games during his senior season due to an off of the field incident that was not his fault at Dumas, Harris still picked up an FBS offer from Air Force, but decided to play for the in-state Razorbacks.
He is a very talented athlete, completing 29 of 54 passes for 380 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. He rushed 69 times for 414 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught two passes for four yards. On defense, he had one interception. He returned three kickoffs for 79 yards in just four games.
During his junior campaign, Harris competed 133 of 208 passes for 1,807 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He rushed 191 times for 1,539 yards and 21 touchdowns. On defense, Harris finished with 18 tackles and three pass breakups. He returned seven kickoffs for 116 yards.
LB CALEB FIELDS
Arkansas extended a late PWO offer to Fayetteville High School linebacker Caleb Fields in mid-March and he quickly accepted the opportunity to be a Razorback. As a senior, Fields had 29 tackles, including eight solo, four quarterback hurries, two sacks and a forced fumble. He's 6-foot, 217 pounds and holds a scholarship offer from Hendrix College.
LB BROOKS BOTH
Both is an in-state product from Harrison who turned down numerous Division II offers to play for the Razorbacks. Arkansas Tech, Henderson State, Northeastern State, and Southwest Baptist all sent offers to the talented inside linebacker.
He recorded 115 tackles, including 51 solo, two for loss, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. On offense, Both rushed seven times for 65 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned one kickoff for 38 yards.
WR TRUITT TOLLETT
Tollett is a homegrown prospect from Springdale, Arkansas who just wrapped up a historic season for Shiloh Christian High School. In a senior season that was like a "dream," Tollett broke records with his 30 receiving touchdowns, 2,500+ all-purpose yards and 130+ catches. Tollett chose to walk-on at Arkansas over offers from Ouachita Baptist and East Central.
K VITO CALVARUSO
Calvaruso is a kicker out of Helias Catholic in Jefferson City, Mo., who turned down an offer from Army and Southeast Missouri State, as well as preferred walk-on offers from Iowa State, Memphis, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech to walk on with the Razorbacks.
He went 25 of 31 on field goals and 122 of 129 on extra points in his career. As a punter, he booted an 80-yard punt with 4.2-second hang time at a camp late last year.
LS ELI CHISM
Chism is a long snapper out of Calvary Baptist in Shreveport, La., who boasted an offer from SEC foe Missouri in addition to interest from Kansas, Louisiana Tech and McNeese State. However, he decided to sign on to be a Razorback.
A 4.5-star prospect by Rubio Long Snapping, Chism did really well over the summer in 2019. From the site: “Strong Long Snapper that has a great form and a terrific work ethic. He is always improving and one of the more consistent Long Snappers in his class. Thick and powerful. Quick ball. He is using his whole body really well. Great overall Long Snapper that definitely can do this at the next level.“
ATH KEVIN COMPTON
Compton is a two-star athlete from Watson Chapel in Pine Bluff who turned down a pair of FCS offers - UAPB and UT-Martin - walk on with the Razorbacks.
He recorded 14 receptions for 361 yards and six touchdowns, in addition to recording 274 yards on kick returns. Defensively, he made 33 tackles, including 12 solo tackles. He also recorded two interceptions in limited action during his senior year due to an injury.
TE JONAS HIGSON
After a senior season in which he earned All-State honors as a linebacker and All-Conference accolades as a wide receiver, Higson is projected as a tight end for the Razorbacks. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete turned down an FBS offer from Air Force, an FCS offer from Lamar and several Division II offers.
LB CHANDLER MCINTOSH
McIntosh is a two-star linebacker from Joe T. Robinson in Little Rock who turned down a pair of FCS offers from Austin Peay and Lamar and a DII offer from Northeastern State to stay home to play at Arkansas, where he’ll join high school teammate JT Towers.
He recorded 213 tackles, including 47 for loss and 12 sacks, in addition to five pass break ups, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries during his senior campaign.
K RHETT THURMAN
Thurman is already on campus with the Razorbacks after graduating from Cabot in December. He will take part in spring workouts with the Hogs. The five-star rated kicker by Chris Sailer picked the Razorbacks over an offer from UCA.
Thurman went 6 of 8 on field goals with a long of 38 yards and was 21 of 25 on extra points during his senior campaign. He also averaged 36 yards on 24 punts with a long of 59 yards, in addition to downing seven punts inside the 20-yard line. He played only five games due to an injury.
LB JACKSON WOODARD
Woodard is another in-state product who has decided to be a preferred walk-on at Arkansas. He had interest from Arkansas State, UCA, Mississippi State and others before making the decision to stay home.
As a senior, Woodard recorded 153 tackles, two sacks and four forced fumbles for Little Rock Christian.
OL PAYTON SIMPSON
Bentonville state champion Payton Simpson pledged himself to walk-on at Arkansas just before freshman report day. He chose to walk-on at Arkansas over offers from Southwest Baptist, East Central, Highland Community College, Mount St. Joseph’s and Mary-Hardin Baylor. He's 6-foot-4 and 335 pounds.