Ryan Pulley declares for NFL Draft
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas cornerback Ryan Pulley will forgo his senior season and enter the 2019 NFL Draft, he announced via Twitter on Monday.
The Florida native is expected to be the Razorbacks’ only underclassman to declare before next week's deadline, as teammates De’Jon Harris and McTelvin Agim have announced decisions to return to school.
A 5.5 three-star prospect out of Cape Coral (Fla.) Island Coast, Pulley turned down offers from Arizona, Indiana, Michigan State and several Group of Five schools to play for the Razorbacks.
He would have been a fifth-year senior at Arkansas next season, as he received a medical redshirt for his 2017 season that ended with a torn pectoral suffered in the first half of the opener.
In his year before the injury, Pulley emerged as one of the top cornerbacks in the SEC, with his 13 pass breakups ranking second in the SEC. On the heels of that performance, he was a preseason third-team All-SEC selection before getting hurt.
As a fourth-year junior this season, Pulley made 37 tackles and had a team-high three interceptions. The only other player with an interception in 2018 was Dre Greenlaw, who was a senior, so the Razorbacks will have to replace all of their production in that category.
Pulley ends his Arkansas career with 95 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, six interceptions, 22 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He also started 23 of the 35 games he played.
Two of his non-starts came in 2018 when he was benched at the beginning of the Tulsa and Vanderbilt games for a late-game ejection against Ole Miss and an undisclosed violation of team rules, respectively. His rocky relationship with the new coaching staff came to a head at the end of the year, when he was suspended for the entire finale after allegedly flirting with Mississippi State dance team members before the previous game.
However, head coach Chad Morris said Pulley had rejoined the team the next week. Last month, Morris also said he expected him - and the other two players who had requested an NFL evaluation, Agim and Harris - to return in 2019.
With Pulley’s departure, the Razorbacks will have to rely heavily on young players at cornerback. Jarques McClellion and Montaric Brown, who combined for 12 starts, will be redshirt sophomores and the most likely starters in spring practice. They’ll have former four-star recruit Ladarrius Bishop as a redshirt freshman, as well.
Arkansas has also signed three defensive backs in the 2019 class, with two more committed and another - Jalen Catalon - considered an Arkansas lean. Four-star signee Greg Brooks will enroll early and go through spring practice, so he might have the best chance at early playing time.