Following the departures of running backs Raheim Sanders and AJ Green, Arkansas was in desperate need of immediate experience at the position and it added just that on Friday.
Utah running back transfer Ja'Quinden Jackson announced his commitment to the Razorbacks through X (formerly Twitter).
The 6-foot-2, 228-pound sophomore played 396 total snaps in 12 games and rushed for 797 yards with four touchdowns in 2023.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson finished the year with an overall grade of 82.0. He also had a pass grade of 56.5, a pass block grade of 27.9, a run grade of 86.1 and a run block grade of 62.8.
Formerly a member of the Texas Longhorns, Jackson was originally recruited as a dual-threat four-star quarterback prospect out of Duncanville, Texas.
Utah Bio
JACKSON QUICK HITS
28 career games at Utah, playing quarterback, running back and on special teams with 11 starts in 2023 at RB.
Officially made the switch to running back in week four of the 2022 season.
Averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his career with the Utes.
Five 100-yard rushing games.
2023: Played in 12 games with 11 starts, recording a team-high 161 carries for 797 yards (4 TDs) with nine catches for 53 yards.
Had three 100-yard rushing games.
Career-high 129 rushing yards on 19 carries at Baylor (6.8 ypc) with a catch for 11 yards.
Had a career-best 26 carries in Utah's win over No. 18 USC, racking up 117 yards.
Finished Utah's win over Arizona State with 13 carries for 111 yards (8.5 ypc) with a touchdown.
Scored two rushing touchdowns against No. 5 Washington, finishing the game with 10 carries for 29 yards and two catches for eight yards.
Recorded 22 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown against Cal, adding one catch for three yards.
Averaged 7.6 yards per carry against Weber State with nine carries for 69 yards and a catch for six yards.
Had a career-high three catches against No. 17 Arizona, recording 24 yards.
Posted 21 carries for 68 yards against Colorado.
2022: Played in 13 games, appearing at quarterback, running back and on special teams with 78 carries for 531 yards and nine touchdowns.
Rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games against Colorado and vs. USC in the Pac-12 Championship game.
Season-high 117 rushing yards on 10 carries at Colorado, scoring three rushing touchdowns.
Had 13 carries for 105 yards and two rushing touchdowns vs. USC to win the title.
Recorded a career-long 66-yard rush at Colorado.
Rushed for 97 yards on 13 carries against Arizona, scoring a two-yard rushing touchdown.
Notched 81 rushing yards in the Rose Bowl against Penn State on 13 carries, scoring a 19-yard rushing touchdown.
Recorded his first-career reception against Penn State for eight yards.
Had 10 rushes for 43 yards and a touchdown at Washington State.
Notched nine carries for 31 yards and a touchdown at Arizona State.
Also had two carries for 29 yards against Southern Utah at quarterback.
2021: Saw action in three games, recording six carries for 30 yards (5.0 ypc) and one touchdown as a reserve quarterback.
Season-high four rushes for 21 yards (5.3 ypc) and a two-yard rushing touchdown against Washington State.
One rush for 10 yards at Stanford.
Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll.
Prior to Utah: True freshman at Texas in 2020, but did not see any action.
High School: High School All-American and first-team all-state selection out of Duncanville HS, leading his team to two-straight state title games … four-star recruit was rated the No. 2 overall recruit in Texas by ESPN, also rated No. 28 on the ESPN300.
Two-time all-state and three-time all-district and District MVP.
100-of-163 passing for 1,711 yards (21 TD, 5 INT), adding 93 carries for 1,030 yards (11.1 ypc) and 16 touchdowns his senior year.
110-of-173 for 1,580 yards and 15 touchdowns (3 INT) as a junior, also recording 1,497 rushing yards on 147 carries (10.2 ypc) with 23 touchdowns.
Seven 100-yard rushing games as a junior.
35-of-55 passing for 320 yards (4 TD), 93 carries for 766 rushing yards (12 TD) and 18 catches for 334 receiving yards (2 TD) as a sophomore.
Personal: Son of Nyia Evans … has three siblings … cousin, Keaontay, was a member of the USC football program … cousin, Kelvontay, was a member of the Texas football program.
