FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas running back and track star Josh Oglesby has entered the transfer portal, HawgBeat has learned.
The Texas native, who signed with the Razorbacks as a sprinter and joined the football team last year, is in the portal for both sports. He is their first departure since May.
As a freshman on the track team, Oglesby earned first-team All-America honors as the opening leg of Arkansas’ 4x100-meter relay team that finished fourth at the NCAA Championships and also ran the 10th-fastest 60-meter dash in UA history (6.74 seconds) at the SEC Indoor Championships.
Following his sophomore year, the former BYU football commit and two-star recruit decided to get back on the gridiron and had a connection with the Arkansas staff thanks to his father’s friendship with the father of Clemson transfer Xavier Kelly.
Although he received steady praise from coaches and teammates throughout fall camp, Oglesby never got a chance to play in 2020 because he suffered a season-ending foot injury before the season.
Healthy again this season, the 5-foot-8, 175-pound failed to crack the rotation and his only appearance came late in the Razorbacks’ blowout win over Georgia Southern. He gained 17 yards on three carries.
With Dominique Johnson, Rocket Sanders, AJ Green and Javion Hunt set to return next season, plus four-star prospect Rashod Dubinion and three-star prospect James Jointer entering the fold as freshmen and the possibility of Trelon Smith returning as a super senior, playing time likely would have been tough to come by again in 2022.
While the news doesn’t seem to have much impact on the field for the Razorbacks, it is still significant because he was on scholarship. His departure opens up a spot in their 85-man limit.
However, the timing does not change Arkansas’ situation for the 2022 class.
Last month, the NCAA Division I Council approved a one-year waiver that will allow schools to sign up to seven additional players to replace those who leave via the portal. The players that would count toward that overflow limit, though, have to leave the program on or after the last day of the fall semester or Dec. 15 - whichever comes first.
Because he entered the portal in November, Oglesby’s departure does not give the Razorbacks an extra scholarship to use on a traditional high school or JUCO signee or transfer. They will need players to enter the portal on or after Dec. 15 to get those extra scholarships.
