Sam Pittman and Arkansas football are looking to bounce back from a rather disappointing 7-6 season in 2022 and one way to do that would be to rely on the incoming freshman class to make some noise.
Sure, the veterans will have a bigger say on the turnaround, but the freshman class would be the perfect complement and could make a major difference.
Which incoming freshmen will have the biggest impact on the Razorbacks right away in 2023?
Tight end is an important position for any offense, but especially at Arkansas. The Razorbacks are bringing in a couple of talented freshmen at tight end and Shamar Easter is one of them.
Easter is the higher-ranked of the two incoming freshmen, but unlike the other, he didn’t enroll early which might set him behind a bit.
But with Arkansas needing someone to step up as the TE1 this season, there’s going to be an opportunity for him to push for that starting job. The tight end position is fairly wide open, so why wouldn’t a 6-foot-5, 225-pound athletic pass-catcher not make waves?
I think Easter is going to be a strong tight end for the next few years at Arkansas and the duo that the Razorbacks have in the 2023 class is an elite one.
Arkansas has picked up a number of cornerbacks from the transfer portal, but I have a hard time believing that Jaylon Braxton won’t play meaningful snaps early on.
Arkansas has Kee’yon Stewart, Jaheim Singletary, and Loran Johnson coming in from the transfer portal. But Braxton has the potential to be more impactful than all of the newcomers at cornerback, outside of maybe Singletary who I think could be a star.
The cornerback position is one of need for the Razorbacks even with some quality options like Dwight McGlothern, LaDarrius Bishop, and Quincey McAdoo returning. While he may not start next season, he could surely crack the two-deep depth chart by the middle part of the year.
All it takes is one injury to force Braxton into meaningful action and I think he’s going to be a star early on for this program.
And to think he was almost a Michigan State Spartan.
Yes, another tight end. While Shamar Easter is the higher-ranked of the two tight ends in the class, per the composite, Luke Hasz enrolled early and is a top-200 prospect in his own right. Plus, many experts believe that he’s going to have an immediate impact on the Razorbacks.
Arkansas has an intriguing offense heading into next season with KJ Jefferson back at quarterback and Rocket Sanders at running back. The receivers, too, should be solid. All that will tie it all together would be a budding star at tight end like Hasz.
With Easter pushing him for some early snaps, Hasz is going to make a huge impression and potentially become one of the best young tight ends in college football.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder from Oklahoma has early playing time on his mind, and being enrolled early has only helped his case. He’s going to be a problem for opposing defenses.