Arkansas football bolstered its secondary via the transfer portal last year by double-dipping from a Big 12 school. Some fans are hoping the Razorbacks can do that again for 2024.
While Alfahiym Walcott and Lorando “Snaxx” Johnson transferred in from Baylor and were each key members of a much-improved unit this season, there’s no guarantee the two Texas defensive backs with connections to Arkansas would make as big of an impact.
That hasn’t stopped some from linking the Razorbacks with both Jalen Catalon and B.J. Allen Jr., who were safeties for the Longhorns before hitting the transfer portal.
When he was healthy, Jalen Catalon was arguably the Razorbacks’ best safety since Ken Hamlin. He certainly brought back memories of Hamlin and Steve Atwater with his bone-crushing hits.
The problem was that he was injured more than not. In fact, dating back to his senior year of high school and including this past season at Texas, Catalon has missed time or been limited by injuries in five of the last six years.
His lone healthy season came as a redshirt freshman in 2020, when he finished with 99 tackles, three interceptions, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles, helping him earn first-team All-SEC honors from the AP.
Unfortunately, a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery limited him to half of a season in 2021. The next year, he was limited to half of a game because he re-injured the same shoulder.