Hogs thin at TE after Gunter enters transfer portal
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FAYETTEVILLE — Another Arkansas player has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Tight end Grayson Gunter, who started half of the Razorbacks’ games in 2019, will apparently explore his options for the final season of his collegiate career.
During his time in Fayetteville, Gunter hauled in 11 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Most of that came last season, when he had 55 yards and a score on six receptions as a redshirt junior.
Half of those catches came in the season opener against Portland State and then he didn’t catch another pass until the ninth game of the season. Gunter’s touchdown came in the finale against Missouri.
However, dropped passes plagued him throughout the year. According to Pro Football Focus, Gunter had three drops out of nine catchable balls for a drop rate of 33.3 percent. That was the third-highest drop rate among FBS tight ends targeted at least nine times this season, behind only UTSA’s Leroy Watson (42.9%) and teammate Chase Harrell (57.1%).
Gunter was a 5.5 three-star recruit out of Madison, Miss., Central who picked the Razorbacks despite a late offer from Ole Miss, his father’s alma mater. Mississippi State and several other upper-level Group of Five programs also extended an offer.
Even though he wasn’t heavily involved on offense, Gunter played in nearly every game as a true freshman in 2016. Instead, he was a starter on the kickoff return unit and hauled in one pass for 29 yards against Mississippi State.
With plenty of depth at tight end, Gunter redshirted in 2017 before returning to the field in 2016, when he made a couple of starts and had four receptions for 51 yards, including a touchdown against Tulsa.
His departure leaves the Razorbacks dangerously thin at tight end for the 2020 season. Redshirt freshman Hudson Henry - a former four-star recruit - will likely be the projected starter, but the only other scholarship tight end on the roster is Blake Kern, a former walk-on primarily used as a blocker this season.
Arkansas had two tight ends committed for the Class of 2020 before head coach Chad Morris was fired, but Allen Horace and Brandon Frazier have since decommitted. Both are still being recruited by the Razorbacks.
Gunter is the sixth player to enter the transfer portal since Morris' firing, joining wide receiver Jordan Jones, quarterback Nick Starkel, defensive end Collin Clay, quarterback/wide receiver Daulton Hyatt and offensive lineman Silas Robinson. That brings the Razorbacks down to 71 scholarship players for 2020, with 14 spots to fill during the February signing period.