Arkansas defensive back Nick Turner officially entered the transfer portal Monday morning. The move was first reported Sunday by Rivals' Sam Spiegelman.
He would become the Razorbacks’ ninth player to leave the program since November, but the first since Saturday’s win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
A 5.7 three-star cornerback coming out of Brother Martin High in New Orleans, Turner originally committed to Georgia Tech, but flipped to the Razorbacks late in the 2020 cycle, joining head coach Sam Pittman’s first class at Arkansas.
In his first collegiate season, Turner appeared in nine of 10 games and made 13 total tackles. Most of his defensive actions came in the regular-season finale against Alabama, when he started at nickel. According to Pro Football Focus, he gave up 7 receptions on 7 targets for 77 yards.
As a sophomore, Turner carved out a heavy special teams role - appearing in all 13 games, with 93 snaps heading into the bowl game - but played on defense in only the Georgia Southern and UAPB games. He got 17 total defensive snaps in those appearances.
He is the seventh player in the Razorbacks’ 2020 signing class - which featured 20 players - to transfer out, joining defensive tackle Andy Boykin, linebacker JT Towers, wide receiver Darin Turner, defensive end Julius Coates, offensive lineman Ray Curry and defensive end/tight end Blayne Toll.
Two of the other players - defensive ends Jaqualin McGee and Catrell Wallace - never made it to campus, plus kicker Vito Calvaruso - who signed as a walk-on, but was put on scholarship this season - was a member of that class.
According to HawgBeat’s projected 2022 scholarship distribution chart, Turner’s departure puts Arkansas at 84 scholarship players for next season. However, six traditional seniors have yet to announce their decisions and that doesn’t include unsigned safety commit Myles Rowser.
