Comings and goings

One of the biggest questions entering the 2021 season was the status of running back Marcel Murray. Although the Hiram, Ga., native had missed several games due to injury over his first three seasons in Jonesboro, Murray declared himself the best he’d felt since high school during fall camp.

The most experienced back in ASU’s stable, Murray appeared poised for a lead role.

But Murray announced Tuesday that he was entering the transfer portal after 14 carries this season in four games. The Red Wolves have leaned on the trio of Lincoln Pare, Alan Lamar and Johnnie Lang Jr. out of the backfield, although they’ve struggled to gain much traction — the Red Wolves rank 127th out of 130 teams nationally with 82.0 rush yards per game.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase,” Murray wrote in part on his Twitter page. “I want to say thank you to my entire A-State family.”

Murray, the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, will have two years of eligibility remaining after redshirting this season.

“I’m thankful for everything that [Marcel] brought to our program … and I have a lot of respect for him,” Coach Butch Jones said. “But moving forward, it’s important that we have players who want to be here, that want to build this program.”

ASU has added two more pieces to its 2022 recruiting class in the last week. Marlique Fleming, a 6-6, 250-pound offensive tackle out of Holmes County Central in Lexington, Miss., verbally committed last Thursday, and 6-3, 230-pound edge rusher Javante Mackey from Memphis Whitehaven announced his commitment Sunday.

That makes eight of the Red Wolves’ 16 current commits who play on either the offensive or defensive lines, fulfilling a promise Jones has made repeatedly this season about building in the trenches.