Arkansas will begin fall camp Wednesday with plenty of newcomers, plus some returners who put in plenty of work during offseason workouts.
Razorbacks' head coach Sam Pittman and director of strength and conditioning Ben Sowders met with reporters Tuesday to recap how the Hogs performed during the summer regiment.
"This is one of the best summers I’ve been a part of in my 16 years of coaching, and that’s because our young men came to work every single day," Sowders said. "We never had a bad day. I can think of two incidents in over 40 workouts, and if you could only think of two, and that’s being pretty picky, then we’re doing pretty good."
According to Sowders, Arkansas has 11 players who can run at least 22 miles per hour, and 68% of the current roster can run at least 20 miles per hour. Of those who can run up to 22 mph, the list includes starting quarterback Taylen Green.
"I think last year, we had four guys that ran 22 I believe," Sowders said. "We’re up to 11, some of that is obviously recruiting, some of that is development as well. We brought really good guys from the portal. I think we have 11 guys that can run 22, so we doubled that number from last year."
Other names mentioned by Sowders that touched 22 mph include receivers Andrew Armstrong, Tyrone Broden, Dazmin James and Jordan Anthony. Tennessee transfer defensive back Doneiko Slaughter was also listed by Sowders, as was sophomore safety TJ Metcalf.
Not far behind is Utah transfer running back Ja'Quinden Jackson, who is a bigger back at 6-foot-2, 233 pounds, but he is also very elusive.
"Been very excited to have him be part of the program," Sowders said. "He’s been nothing but great, phenomenal effort. Got faster. He’s a guy that ended up hitting 21 on his miles per hour, he’s like (233 pounds). He’s going to be a bruiser, as well as got some speed to him. We’re very excited."
As for the biggest freak in the weight room, it was hard to name someone other than stud 6-foot-7, 280-pound defensive end Landon Jackson, who was a preseason Second Team All-SEC selection.
"Landon Jackson’s had a really, really good summer," Sowders said. "You’re talking about a dude that broad jumps over 10 feet. I think he’s a 10-2, 10-3 broad jump at 280 pounds. Clean 345. Squatted 515. He’s almost 6-7. Vertical’s mid-30s. You’re talking about a d-lineman. He does those numbers and puts up success on the field, and you’re going to get invited to the combine and he’s going to make himself a lot of money."
Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Ian Geffrard was also a standout. Listed at 388 pounds on the official roster, Geffrard could be a force on the interior defensive line.
"He’s down to about 382 right now, so he’s lost some weight, especially in the last two weeks," Sowders said. "He’s been great. There’s been six or seven guys I won’t mention, but basically had two-a-days all summer long, and he’s one of them. You know, he’s a big guy, but he’s not fat.
"I mean, you’re looking at a dude that’s, like I said, 381 pounds, and he’s got 25% body fat, or 26. Whatever it is, you’re saying 75% of his body is muscle. That’s a lot of muscle. So he’s strong. He’s powerful, and I look for him to really make some strides here in camp, and excited to see what he does."
Below is a full list of the height and weight for every scholarship and walk-on player on the Arkansas roster. Returners weight is compared with their listed weight on the spring roster. The same goes for freshmen and transfers who enrolled for spring practices. Post-spring transfers have their 2023 weight listed and post-spring freshmen enrollees do not have a prior weight listed.
