This article is part of a series previewing the Razorbacks’ 2020 football roster.
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Razorback Career
Julius Coates graduated from EMCC in December with two years to play two seasons and arrived on the Hill to go through winter conditioning and spring football with his new teammates. Coates has been assigned No. 13 for the 2020 season, same number as grad transfer QB Feleipe Franks and the former number of 2019 signee Collin Clay who transferred to Oklahoma State after one season.
Between enrolling and the post-winter weigh in, Coates gained 11 pounds and he's now 6-foot-6, 281 pounds. Coates is the tallest and heaviest of all Arkansas's defensive ends in 2020.
Barry Odom had especially high praise for Julius after winter conditioning and some virtual meetings:
"We’re going to count on Julius being a major factor for us. That’s the reason we recruited him, and he’s done a terrific job of developing his skill set since he’s been on campus. I would say if you had a before-and-after picture of what Julius looked like from the day he walked in to where he was when we cut loose here, he maybe transformed as much as anybody. He’s become bigger, stronger, leaner, faster, quicker, all those things."
2020 Expectations
Defensive line coach Derrick LaBlanc will have some work to do getting Coates up to SEC game speed but with the winter conditioning program and extensive virtual meetings, Coates should be physically and mentally prepared to play a lot for Arkansas in his first year on campus. He'll be competing with rising sophomore Mataio Soli, Zach Williams, Eric Gregory and more for snaps but what he lacks in SEC reps, he makes up for in size and overall maturity.
Coates' frame makes him perfect for the defensive scheme when the Hogs go into a dime package because he's big and strong enough to hold his own while setting the edge.
Recruiting Flashback
As a high school senior in the class of 2017, Coates went unsigned and found his way to Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls. At Ellsworth, he played tight end and had 8 receptions for 62 yards. Coates saw he'd have more potential as a defensive end and decided to move to Scooba, Mississippi to attend EMCC.
He racked up offers from schools like Colorado, New Mexico, ULL and Western Kentucky leading into his second year at EMCC and after racking up 30 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles with two scoop and scores, Coates earned several more offers and committed to Colorado after an official visit.
Offers from programs like Oregon, Nebraska, Arkansas and Maryland, caused Coates to reopen his recruitment leading up to early signing and Arkansas won out, signing their only JUCO player in the 2020 class.
