Transfers shine in Arkansas debut
Arkansas Football had many returning assets to their roster entering the 2022 season. But were able to reel in valuable pieces from the transfer portal to fill needs.
Those transfers got their first chance to shine in an Arkansas uniform on Saturday, and did not disappoint.
Players such as Matt Landers, Jadon Haselwood, Drew Sanders, Latavious Brini, and Dwight McGlothern all played key roles for the Razorbacks in their 31-24 victory over No. 22 Cincinnati on Saturday. Head coach Sam Pittman says that he is pleased with the way that they all performed, and gave his coaching staff credit for getting them prepared to play.
“Matt Landers I thought showed them he’s a hard guy to cover. The game didn’t necessarily go where we continue with him,” Pittman said following Saturday’s win. “Haselwood as a transfer doing some nice things made a really nice catch on the touchdown. Those guys on offense I thought they did a good job. Brini came in and played at least half the game when Catalon got hurt.”
Each transfer contributed to the win in their own way, but the player that made the most noise in the group was Dwight McGlothern. The transfer from LSU halted an 11-play Cincinnati drive in the 1st quarter by intercepting a pass by Bearcat quarterback Ben Bryant. The interception set up a three-play drive by Arkansas that ended with a K.J. Jefferson touchdown rush to put Arkansas ahead, 7-0.
“Huge play because I think on that drive, I think it was third and it might have been eight-plus on every one of them and they converted them,” Pittman said. (McGlothern) picked it off and got us headed in the right direction. That was big because they were converting third downs on us. Got a lot of work to do but that was a big play.”
Other highlights involving transfer included Landers and Haselwood combining to make six catches for 85 yards, and Sanders recorded a sack.
