Pair of Razorbacks transfer back to previous schools
The saying "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" has become very popular in college football's transfer portal world, and it seems a pair of former Arkansas football players both realized that recently.
Within the past three days, former Arkansas defensive back Lorando "Snaxx" Johnson and former quarterback Jacolby Criswell both transferred back to the schools they came to Fayetteville from.
After spending the 2023 season plus the 2024 spring with his home state Razorbacks, Criswell is transferring back to North Carolina, where he spent his first three seasons as a four-star prospect out of Morrilton. Criswell appeared in just four games last fall for the Razorbacks and he completed 17 of 27 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns.
Criswell backed up NFL quarterbacks Sam Howell and Drake Maye during his previous three seasons with the Tar Heels, and he served as KJ Jefferson's backup at Arkansas last season. With two years of eligibility remaining, a return to head coach Mack Brown and North Carolina makes a lot of sense for Criswell, who has attempted just 58 passes in his career.
Johnson announced Sunday that he plans to transfer back to Baylor, where he spent three seasons before hitting the portal and landing with the Razorbacks for the 2023 season. The Lancaster, Texas, native started all 12 games for the Hogs last fall and served as a corner and nickelback.
An outspoken player on the field, Johnson tallied 29 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, one sack and one interception with the Razorbacks. With just one year of eligibility remaining, Johnson tweeted Jan. 11 "last one best one Go Hogs," but he clearly had a change of heart.
Johnson entered the portal April 22, a day that he also went back and forth with former Arkansas linebacker De'Jon "Scoota" Harris on X (formerly Twitter).
In the end, Johnson made the decision to transfer back to the home-state Bears for his final season of college football, and his caption says a lot:
"i was tripping gang my bad i'm back tho #SicEm. PS: I LOVE YOU COACH (DAVE) ARANDA!"
For what it's worth, Arkansas wide receiver Andrew Armstrong quote tweeted Johnson's announcement with the caption "MONEY YEAR."
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said after the Red-White Spring Game on April 13 that he though the Hogs would have a "fine football team" if they didn't lose anyone to the portal post-spring.
"The No. 1 thing is, I don’t want to lose anybody we have," Pittman said. "Inevitably, we’re going to. I hope not, but we could. I don’t know why you’re going to leave this team. We’re a good football team. But I understand the landscape of football."
The Razorbacks have since lost six scholarship players to the portal, although none were really slated to be key contributors. Projected starting punter Max Fletcher transferred to Cincinnati and Johnson transferred to Baylor, but those were the only two fighting for a starting spot based on what we saw in the spring.
According to HawgBeat's count, the Razorbacks have seven open scholarships to fill, but that number could change if any walk-ons, such as punter Devin Bale, are awarded scholarships. The spring transfer portal is set to close Tuesday.