Looking back at Arkansas' recent JUCO signees

Although he’s said he doesn’t want to sign a large number of them, first-year Arkansas coach Sam Pittman isn’t afraid of adding a few junior college players each year if he believes they can provide an immediate boost.

He showed that in his first class with the Razorbacks, signing 6-foot-7 defensive end Julius Coates out of East Mississippi C.C.

Even when being selective, though, recruiting JUCO players can be tricky and very hit-and-miss. So what should Arkansas fans expect from Coates when football gets underway?

There’s no way to know before ever seeing him at least in practice, but HawgBeat thought it’d be beneficial to look back at the Razorbacks’ previous junior college signees in recent years to get somewhat of an idea of what to expect…

College Students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95. Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to nchavanelle@yahoo.com.

2019

OL Myron Cunningham - Iowa Central C.C.

Year 1: 11 games/10 starts, 690 offensive snaps, 58.7 PFF grade

After choosing Arkansas over Oklahoma and several other Power Five offers, Cunningham immediately established himself as one of the Razorbacks’ top five offensive linemen. He started the first three games of the season at right guard before moving to left tackle, where he started seven of the final nine games. Cunningham’s 690 total offensive snaps were the fifth most on the team last year and he figures to compete for a starting spot again in 2020.

OL Chibueze Nwanna - Lackawanna C.C.

Year 1: DNP

Unlike Cunningham, Nwanna did not contribute in his first season out of junior college. In fact, he was buried on the depth chart, running with the third and fourth unit and getting a lot of work with the scout team.

2018

RB Rakeem Boyd - Independence C.C.

Year 1: 123 carries, 734 yards, 2 TD, 23 receptions, 165 yards

Year 2: 184 carries, 1,133 yards, 8 TD, 19 receptions, 160 yards

One of the Razorbacks’ most successful JUCO additions, Boyd has lived up to the expectations he had when he signed with Texas A&M as a four-star recruit out of high school. Multiple injuries limited him to just 734 yards in 2018, but he stayed mostly healthy last year and racked up 1,133 yards. His 6.1 yards per carry rank third in school history behind only Felix Jones and Matt Jones. By returning to Arkansas for his senior year, Boyd has a legitimate chance to become just the sixth player in UA history to reach 3,000 career rushing yards.

DE Dorian Gerald - College of the Canyons

Year 1: 8 games/2 starts, 21 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 QBH, 2 PBU

Year 2: 1 game/1 start, 1 tackle 1 PBU

Most people expected Gerald to sign with Texas A&M coming out of JUCO, but he chose Arkansas instead and became one of the biggest recruits in Chad Morris’ first class. However, it wasn’t until the final two games of the year that he cracked the starting lineup. He was likely going to be a big part of last year’s defense, but suffered an unusual injury to an artery in his neck during the first half of the season opener and missed the rest of the year. On the bright side, that enabled Gerald to take a redshirt and provide some veteran leadership at defensive end in 2020.

*WR Jimmie Stoudemire - Riverside C.C.

Year 1: DNP

Year 2: DNP

Originally joining the Razorbacks as a walk-on, Stoudemire was one of several players put on scholarship last season in order to get them up to the 85 limit. He never appeared in a game during his two years in Fayetteville.

2017

WR Brandon Martin - Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C.

Year 1: 9 receptions, 119 yards

A former LSU signee, Martin was a heralded four-star recruit coming out of JUCO. Unfortunately, he never lived up to the hype. It wasn’t until the fifth game of the season that he caught a pass and he made only two starts in 2017. At 6-foot-4, 219 pounds, Martin figured to be the ideal receiver for Morris when he was hired after that season, but academic issues led to him never playing for the Razorbacks again.

WR Jonathan Nance - Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C.

Year 1: 37 receptions, 539 yards, 5 TD, 5 carries, 62 yards

Year 2: 1 reception, minus-2 yards

Seen by many as a “throw in” recruit to get JUCO teammate Martin, Nance actually turned out to be the better of the two receivers. He led the Razorbacks in all three major receiving categories in 2017, with his 37 receptions and 539 yards being the most by any Arkansas player over the last three seasons. Under Morris, though, Nance managed just one catch - for a loss of 2 yards - despite starting the first four games of the 2018 season. At that point, he took advantage of the four-game redshirt rule and transferred to Missouri, where he caught 31 passes for 458 yards and four touchdowns last year.

TE Jeremy Patton - Arizona Western C.C.

Year 1: 11 receptions, 189 yards

Year 2: 5 receptions, 45 yards

Another four-star JUCO signee in Bret Bielema’s final class, Patton started six games in 2017, but caught only 11 passes for 189 yards. His production fell off the following season, when he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the fifth game of the year.

DE Gabe Richardson - Hutchinson C.C.

Year 1: 4 games/0 starts, 1 tackle, 1 forced fumble

Year 2: 11 games/2 starts, 13 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 2 QBH, 1 PBU, 1 fumble recovery

Year 3: 12 games/11 starts, 33 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 1 QBH, 1 PBU, 1 forced fumble

After playing only six defensive snaps in his first year, Richardson saw his playing time steadily increase over the next two seasons. By his senior year, the former two-star recruit was a starter, moving into the starting lineup after Gerald suffered his injury.

2016

OL Deion Malone - Northwest Mississippi C.C.

Year 1: DNP

Year 2: DNP

Year 3: DNP

Malone signed with Arkansas over offers from East Carolina, Memphis, San Diego State, Tulane and other similar schools. He redshirted his first year, moved to defensive tackle in 2017 and then flipped back to offensive line, but never appeared in a game. A torn ACL suffered in fall camp actually prevented him from even practicing in 2018, but also allowed him to pursue a sixth year of eligibility - which he used at Texas A&M-Commerce, a Division II program, and earned first-team all-conference honors.

OL Paul Ramirez - San Bernardino Valley C.C.

Year 1: 3 games/0 starts, 7 offensive snaps

Year 2: 7 games/2 starts, 242 offensive snaps, 56.3 PFF grade

Unlike Malone, Ramirez actually played some for the Razorbacks. After making just three appearances - mostly on special teams - in his first season, he factored into the depth chart as a senior. Unfortunately, he struggled mightily with penalties and posted an abysmal 56.3 Pro Football Focus grade, which ranked 142nd among 167 Power Five tackles who played at least 200 snaps.

DE Michael Taylor - Riverside C.C.

Year 1: DNP

Year 2: 2 games/0 starts

Year 3: 12 games/1 start, 18 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Taylor began his collegiate career as a track athlete at North Carolina Central before transferring to Coffeyville C.C. for a semester. He then moved on to Riverside C.C. for his first year of football. The Razorbacks ran into paperwork issues that kept him off the field in 2016. Despite allegedly turning heads in practice that year, Taylor appeared in only two games in 2017. As a senior, he started the first game of the year and played a total of 230 defensive snaps. The most memorable play of Taylor’s career was a costly targeting penalty against LSU that led to his ejection and gave the Tigers a first down instead of setting up a third-and-15 play.

CB Britto Tutt - Ventura C.C.

Year 1: DNP

Year 2: 8 games/0 starts, 2 tackles

Year 3: 6 games/1 start, 2 tackles, 2 kickoff returns, 44 yards

Year 4: 7 games/0 starts

Multiple knee injuries prevented Tutt from ever playing a full season at Arkansas, but he did make one start as a redshirt junior in 2018. According to Pro Football Focus, he played a total of 136 defensive snaps during his time with the Razorbacks.

2015

DL Jeremiah Ledbetter - Hutchinson C.C.

Year 1: 13 games/12 starts, 55 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 3 QBH, 1 PBU

Year 2: 13 games/13 starts, 49 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 1 QBH, 2 PBU, 1 forced fumble

A four-star recruit coming out of JUCO, Ledbetter came off the bench in his first game, but then started the final 25 games of his career. After playing defensive end all of 2015, he moved to defensive tackle for the first eight games of his senior year before moving back outside. Ledbetter played well enough to earn an invite to the East-West Shrine Game and NFL combine. The Lions drafted him in the sixth round in 2017 and he’s bounced around the NFL since then, appearing in 17 regular-season games.

WR Dominique Reed - Coffeyville C.C.

Year 1: 28 receptions, 535 yards, 6 TD, 4 carries, 24 yards, 1 TD, 10 kickoff returns, 222 yards

Year 2: 16 receptions, 255 yards, 2 TD, 5 carries, 26 yards, 9 kickoff returns, 161 yards

It took a few games, but Reed - a speedster originally from Camden Fairview - emerged as a big-play threat for the Razorbacks in 2015. Against Ole Miss that season, he caught seven passes for 105 yards and a pair of scores. His 19.1 yards per reception that year ranked second in the SEC and six of his eight career touchdown receptions were 30 or more yards. Unfortunately, Reed’s production fell off the following season.

2014

WR Cody Hollister - Arizona Western C.C.

Year 1: 13 receptions, 137 yards, 1 TD

Year 2: 4 receptions, 65 yards

Year 3: 10 receptions, 140 yards, 2 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD

Although he was never one of the Razorbacks’ top targets during his career, Hollister started 12 games over three seasons. A broken foot cost him seven games during the middle of his junior year. Both of his touchdowns - one through the air and one on the ground - came against FCS opponents. However, Hollister signed as an undrafted free agent and has actually appeared in some regular-season NFL games.

OL Sebastian Tretola - Iowa Western C.C.

Year 1: 13 games/11 starts, 818 offensive snaps, 83.3 PFF grade

Year 2: 13 games/13 starts, 888 offensive snaps, 90.6 PFF grade

Most fans likely remember Tretola for the touchdown pass he threw on a fake field goal against UAB, but he was also an excellent offensive lineman. After coming off the bench in his first two games, he started 24 straight games at left guard. As a senior, he won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best offensive lineman in the SEC and earned multiple All-America honors. That led to Tretola getting selected by the Titans in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

LB Josh Williams - Dodge City C.C.

Year 1: 13 games/2 starts, 29 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack

Year 2: 5 games/2 starts, 16 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 fumble recovery

Year 3: 12 games/0 starts, 1 tackle, 1 forced fumble

Williams is a perfect example of a fall camp All-American, as he always flashed in practice, but it never translated to Saturdays. He started a handful of games during his first two years before suffering a significant injury that nearly cost him his leg against Tennessee. Although he returned the following season, most of his action as a senior was on special teams.