Razorback Roster Rundown: No. 16 Malik Chavis

This article is part of a series previewing the Razorbacks’ 2020 football roster.

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Considering he came from a small school and never focused solely on football because he was a multi-sport athlete, Chavis seemed to be a prime redshirt candidate for the Razorbacks last season.

However, thanks to the relatively new rule that allows players to appear in as many as four games and maintain the year of eligibility, as well as his sheer athleticism, Chavis found his way onto the field for a pair of games as a true freshman.

Playing 15 defensive snaps against Mississippi State and seven against Western Kentucky, he made two tackles and earned a 66.9 grade from Pro Football Focus. Chavis also contributed 16 special teams snaps in those games, earning a 62.2 grade.

Even though he didn’t play in earlier games, Chavis actually moved ahead of four-star freshman Devin Bush on the depth chart, showing how much the previous staff felt he improved throughout the season.

Playing time will be hard to come back for cornerbacks this season, at least it seems that way on paper. Starters Jarques McClellion and Montaric Brown are back, as is LaDarrius Bishop, who started a game last season.

On top of that, Bush pulled out of the transfer portal to return to Arkansas and the Razorbacks added graduate transfer Jerry Jacobs from Arkansas State. That is a lot of options at a spot that traditionally doesn’t have much rotation.

However, Chavis could still find his way on the field if Arkansas utilizes a base 3-2-6 defensive like has been discussed this offseason. That creates two additional defensive back spots on top of the two safeties and two corners.

If nothing else, his speed should make Chavis a key special teams contributor as a redshirt freshman.

There was never any doubt about where Chavis would end up. A 5.6 three-star athlete from Rison, a small town in south Arkansas, his only other FBS offer was from Memphis.

Ole Miss and Oklahoma State showed some interest and tried to get him on campus, but Chavis was all Arkansas and committed less than three weeks after being offered by the Razorbacks, who were intrigued by his speed and projected him as a cornerback.

In addition to excelling at multiple positions in football, Chavis also played baseball and basketball. His best sport away from the gridiron might have been track and field, as he was the high point performer at the 2018 Arkansas Class 2A championship meet and he finished third in the 100-meter dash at the Meet of Champions (all classifications) as a junior.