Multiple Hogs announce intentions for 2022 season
FAYETTEVILLE — Personnel news for the University of Arkansas football program flowed on Monday, highlighted by Montaric “Busta” Brown’s announcement he has accepted an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine, which will take place March 1-7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Additionally, defensive backs Devin Bush and Nick Turner, receiver Kendall Catalon and kicker/punter Matthew Phillips have entered the NCAA transfer portal, and deep snapper Jordan Silver announced he was declaring for the NFL Draft as expected.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the situation said senior tailback Trelon Smith was leaning toward a transfer to Texas-San Antonio, led by coach Jeff Traylor, who was the Hogs’ running backs coach from 2018-19 and recruited Smith to Arkansas. Smith, who ranked second on the team in rushing with 598 yards and five touchdowns, announced on Sunday he was “checking out” of Arkansas.
Brown, a fourth-year senior from
Ashdown, blossomed into one of the Southeastern Conference’s top cornerbacks the last two seasons. He earned first-team All-SEC honors by league coaches this year after tying for the conference lead with five interceptions to go along with 54 tackles, six pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Brown announced he was declaring for the NFL Draft on Saturday after the Razorbacks capped a 9-4 season with a 24-10 win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
Brown posted a takeaway in three consecutive games down the stretch, key interceptions in wins over LSU and Missouri and a strip and fumble recovery inside the Arkansas 5-yard line at No. 2 Alabama.
Speaking after an Outback Bowl practice on Dec. 29, Brown was asked how he’d view the game based on his upcoming decision.
“If it is my last game, I just want to say I gave it my all,” Brown said.
Silver, one of the nation’s top long snappers, has received an invitation to the Senior Bowl, the premier all-star game for NFL Draft prospects, which will take place on Feb. 5 in Mobile, Ala.
“Thank you for the past 5 years in Fayetteville,” Silver wrote on his Twitter account. “I’ll never forget my time here from living in the Quads to spending endless hours in the football facility to all the study sessions in the Jones. It has been such a blessing to be a Razorback and to be allowed the opportunities to serve the community that gives the Razorbacks so much.”
Silver has been credited with phenomenal accuracy on snaps for punting and place kicking by Arkansas special teams coordinator Scott Fountain. He was one of 10 semifinalists for the Patrick Mannelly Award, won by Pittsburgh’s Cal Adomitis, which has been given since 2019 to the nation’s top deep snapper.
Bush, a redshirt sophomore from New Orleans, and Turner, a redshirt freshman from New Orleans, received minimal playing time. Turner had three tackles while playing mostly on special teams in 12 games, while Bush had one tackle in three games.
Bush had moved from cornerback to safety late in the season.
Catalon, a redshirt senior and the brother of Arkansas junior safety Jalen Catalon, would have one year of eligibility remaining. The 5-9, 185-pounder from Mansfield, Texas, who transferred from Southern University prior to the 2020 season, had a strong training camp but he did not crack the main receiver rotation. Catalon has 56 receptions for 758 yards and seven touchdowns over two seasons with the Jaguars.
Jalen Catalon announced last month he planned to return for his redshirt junior season with the Razorbacks after undergoing shoulder surgery midway through the season. He and left tackle Dalton Wagner are two prominent Razorbacks who have announced their return in 2022.
Phillips, a redshirt junior walk-on kicker and punter from Brentwood, Tennessee, made his only career field goal, a 26-yarder versus Alabama on Dec. 12, 2020. He also had four punts for a 38-yard average as a freshman in 2019.
Arkansas coaches are awaiting public announcements on the status in 2022 of linebacker Bumper Pool, defensive tackle John Ridgeway and safety Joe Foucha, who have one season of eligibility remaining.