The Texas showdown after the bye week is looming large for the future of the Arkansas football program.
It certainly isn’t a must-win game for Sam Pittman to keep his job, as he’s probably safe barring a loss to Louisiana Tech the following week, but an upset — or even a competitive loss — would go a long way in quieting a fan base up in arms over the Razorbacks’ recent struggles at home.
On a more granular level, the Arkansas vs Texas game could also prove vital to the future of the Razorbacks’ wide receiver corps.
All-SEC candidate Andrew Armstrong, and his 55 receptions for 857 yards, will be gone next year — as will Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden — and Arkansas needs to reload so quarterback Taylen Green has targets in 2025.
Johntay Cook II Leaves Texas
The transfer portal doesn’t officially open to all players until Dec. 9, but several graduate transfers are already in and even more who are no longer part of their current team with plans to enter.
One such player is wide receiver Johntay Cook II, a former five-star recruit who has “mutually” parted ways with the Texas football program, head coach Steve Sarkisian confirmed Thursday.
“We have nothing but respect for him and his family,” Sarkisian told reporters. “Wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
Cook checked in at No. 29 overall in the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite, and was ranked as the third-best wide receiver in the class.
Between last season as a true freshman and the first half of this season, the DeSoto, Texas, native caught 16 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those scores came in a blowout win over UTSA on Sept. 14 and he hadn’t appeared in a game since Oct. 12 against Oklahoma.
It’s still very early in the process, but the 6-foot-0, 185-pound Cook is currently one of the best portal prospects in the 2025 cycle. In fact, he checks in at No. 2 — out of 36 total players — on 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings, behind only former Alabama defensive tackle Jehiem Oatis.
Would it Make Sense for Arkansas Football?
There’s virtually no question the Razorbacks will be in the market for a go-to wide receiver in the portal this offseason.
A trio of super seniors — Andrew Armstrong, Tyrone Broden and Isaac TeSlaa — are among Arkansas’ top four wide receivers in terms of total snaps and account for 69.2% of its total receiving yards by wide receivers so far this season.
On paper, Johntay Cook II seems like a no-brainer as someone for Arkansas to target in the transfer portal, especially considering the Razorbacks have had success with former blue-chip recruits who transfer in from blue-blood programs in the past. That group even includes a receiver, as Jadon Haselwood was highly productive in 2022 after leaving Oklahoma.
However, Sam Pittman must make the final call on whether or not he’d be a good fit in Fayetteville. He knows as well as anyone the consequences of bad locker room culture.
It’s unclear exactly what happened with Cook. While Steve Sarkisian said it was mutual, multiple outlets covering Texas football have reported he was dismissed. Inside Texas, an On3 affiliate, declined to “divulge the ‘locker room’ aspects” of Cook’s dismissal, but noted that “it had been coming to a head for a while.”
A source told Best of Arkansas Sports that there was no off-the-field issue and that it simply stemmed from playing time — a lack thereof. After playing 103 snaps over the first four weeks of the season, Cook played just 7 against Mississippi State and 4 against Oklahoma.
This is where the upcoming Arkansas vs Texas game comes into play.
It’s not uncommon for coaches to reach out to a transfer’s previous coach to get an idea of what actually went down so they can make a proper character judgement. This is something Dave Van Horn regularly does on the baseball side of things and, given his likability, Pittman probably has success doing the same.
With the Longhorns coming to Fayetteville on Nov. 16, though, he doesn’t even have to get on the phone. He can just bring it up to Sarkisian during their pregame chat and figure out if it’s worth pursuing Cook.
Does it Make Sense for Cook?
Of course, the Razorbacks choosing to pursue Johntay Cook II is only half the battle. There’s also the issue of him being interested in coming here.
While there was an obvious connection with Jadon Haselwood, as former Arkansas running backs coach Jimmy Smith was his high school coach, there’s no direct tie between the Razorbacks and Cook.
However, it seems as though Andrew Armstrong may have some type of relationship with him:
Of course, the pair did not overlap at DeSoto High. Armstrong last played for the Eagles as a junior in 2017, while Cook’s sophomore year with the Texas powerhouse wasn’t until 2020.
Perhaps their geographic proximity led to them becoming friends and Armstrong could put in a good word for the Razorbacks, who will be looking for his replacement this offseason.
There’s also the potential of that DeSoto connection working against Arkansas because Cook did overlap with Jaedon Wilson, who was two years ahead of him in high school. Wilson left the team after Week 1 this season and is in the portal as a graduate transfer, so his recommendation might not be as glowing.
Another thing to consider is NIL. An article by 247Sports’ Brad Crawford didn’t mention Arkansas, but did list eight different programs known for their robust NIL spending as potential landing spots.
If it truly just boiled down to playing time and him being sixth in the wide receiver pecking order at Texas, though, Arkansas has a pretty clear path to the field next season with an offensive coordinator who likes to sling it around.
Other programs like to sling it around too, including the one who most recently beat Arkansas. Ole Miss is one of three schools that have contacted Cook so far, according to Rivals’ Adam Gorney.
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More on former Texas wide receiver Johntay Cook II:
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