Roster turnover is inevitable in modern college sports, but Arkansas football got its first unexpected departure when wide receiver Isaiah Sategna announced that he was entering the transfer portal.
After redshirting in his first year and seeing limited action in 2023, Sategna was widely expected to have a breakout sophomore campaign this season. In many ways, that came to fruition, as he finished the regular season with 37 catches for 491 yards and a touchdown. He was second on the team in both receptions and receiving yards behind only Andrew Armstrong, who had a historically good year with 1,140 yards.
With Armstrong and fellow seniors Isaac TeSlaa and Tyrone Broden out of eligibility, Sategna was far and away the most promising returner in the wide receiver room. A Fayetteville native leading the Razorbacks in receiving yards? Now that’s a headline.
Instead, the Hogs will lose out on Sategna and his blistering speed.
Current Arkansas WR Room
Looking at Arkansas’ returning production – or lack thereof, to be more accurate – it’s clear that wide receiver has become a desperate need in the offseason.
Of the returners, Jordan Anthony’s eight catches for 110 yards is by far the most. Nobody else in the 2025 receiver room posted more than two catches this season. Bryce Stephens was confined to special teams work in 2024. Super senior Khafre Brown could seek a medical redshirt after only appearing in the season opener this year.
Despite being in just his second year of eligibility, walk-on wideout Monte Harrison will be 30 years old when the 2025 season kicks off. He saw the field some late in the year, but only tallied two catches for 29 yards. Then there’s the trio of less-heralded prospects that were late additions in their respective high school classes – Dazmin James, Krosse Johnson and Zach Taylor. One of these players could step up and contribute, but the Hogs shouldn’t rely on that.
Bentonville native CJ Brown could step into a bigger role as a sophomore, but he caught just one pass this season – a screen play against Texas on which he fumbled. The Hogs were able to flip a pair of high school recruits on signing day in four-star Ja’kayden Ferguson and three-star Jace Brown to join in-state products Antonio Jordan and Quentin Murphy – but none of those youngsters should be expected to shoulder the load in 2025.
The Hogs did lose a committed wideout on Signing Day when three-star Kamare Williams flipped to Louisville – likely as a result of Arkansas’ unexpected late additions.
All told, the Razorbacks are set to lose 91.2% of their receptions and receiving yards by wide receivers (not including tight ends or running backs) — and that assumes the return of Khafre Brown. It’s also worth noting that a big chunk of that returning production was compiled in the opener against UAPB.
Before Friday, it would have been reasonable to expect tight end Luke Hasz to lessen the load on the new wideouts by picking up more targets in 2025 – but no more. The position is eerily similar to the linebacker room from last season, which lost 92.9% of its total snaps from 2023. Of course, that group retooled nicely with the additions of Xavian Sorey and Stephen Dix in the portal.
Just as they did at that spot over the offseason, the Razorbacks need talented and experienced wideouts in the transfer portal, and they need ‘em bad. Here’s a look at some potential options for offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino and wide receivers coach Ronnie Fouch.
SEC Defectors for Arkansas to Pursue
Where better to look for SEC-caliber talent than the SEC itself? Sure enough, a number of promising options from conference foes are already in the portal seeking to take their talent elsewhere.
Oklahoma’s Nic Anderson raised a lot of eyebrows when he entered the portal on Thursday afternoon. A 6-foot-4 wideout from Katy, Texas, Anderson burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2023 with 38 catches for 798 yards and a record-breaking 10 touchdown catches.
Expectations were high this season, but he fell victim to the injury bug and missed most of the year. A four-star in the 247Sports composite, Arkansas was one of his offers out of high school. It would not be surprising at all to see the Hogs swoop back in for him.
Arkansas can also look at Kentucky for potential options, as the Wildcats have lost their top two receivers to the portal after a miserable 4-8 season. Barion Brown put up 361 yards and three touchdowns this season. He burst onto the scene with a 628-yard season as a freshman in 2022. Dane Key led the team in receiving in 2024 with 715 yards, and he has the size of a true No. 1 wideout at 6-foot-3.
Both are juniors with one year of eligibility remaining, and the Hogs might have an “in” with both of them from a current Razorback receiver. Jordan Anthony, who came to Arkansas last season by way of Texas A&M, actually spent his first college season at Kentucky. In fact, he was part of the same 2022 signing class alongside Brown and Key. He could surely be a useful tool in recruiting his former teammates to Fayetteville.
After all, the Hogs have already had their hands in Kentucky’s cookie jar this week after poaching Ferguson, a former Wildcat commit, on Signing Day.
Alabama’s Kobe Prentice is another promising potential target for Arkansas. After a promising first two seasons in Tuscaloosa, the 5-foot-10 junior struggled to crack the starting group under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, only posting 11 catches for 129 yards in 2024. The former top-100 prospect will be highly sought after in the portal.
Small School Studs Who Could Make the Jump to the SEC
Arkansas could also look to the Group of Five ranks for some promising talents ready to take the next step. In fact, the Hogs already have a visit on the books from one potential wideout.
Fresno State’s Raylen Sharpe confirmed he’ll visit Arkansas on Dec. 11 after putting up 523 yards for the Bulldogs this season. The 5-foot-9 speedster enters the portal after a coaching change at his current school. He previously played for Petrino at Missouri State in 2022, so there’s an obvious connection there. As a sophomore with the Bears, he put up 991 yards and seven touchdowns.
FIU’s Eric Rivers presents another potential option for Arkansas, as he put up 62 catches for 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2024. The Razorback staff got a firsthand look at Rivers in 2023 when the Panthers came to Razorback Stadium. Now, the 5-foot-11 junior is in the portal looking to take his talents to the next level.
Omari Kelly from Middle Tennessee is also in the portal after a breakout junior season that saw him put up 53 catches for 869 yards and four scores. The 6-foot wideout shows impressive hands and speed on tape. He started his career at Auburn, which would put him on a similar career path to former Razorback Matt Landers, who came to Arkansas by way of Toledo but started out at Georgia.
If the Hogs want to drop down to the FCS or Division II level to expand their search, they’ll find plenty of talented receivers with SEC-caliber talent. After all, Andrew Armstrong came from Texas A&M-Commerce, which played at both the DII and FCS level during his time there. And he turned into the SEC’s leading receiver in 2024.
The most notable receiver from those ranks who’s already in the portal is UAPB’s JaVonnie Gibson, who put up 70 receptions for 1,215 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024. The 6-foot-3 sophomore is a native of Opelousas, La., and the Arkansas staff got the chance to see him firsthand in the season opener this year.
While his pregame trash-talking of the Arkansas secondary didn’t turn out well in that contest, you’ve got to admire the confidence from the wideout. Getting Gibson to come up the road from Pine Bluff would be a huge in-state addition to the team.
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Mike Irwin breaks down the Hogs’ 2025 class:
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