Brooks, Ridgeway latest in Hogs’ departures
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas lost another pair of starting defensive players on Thursday as defensive tackle John Ridgeway announced that he was declaring for the NFL Draft and nickel back Greg Brooks Jr. said he was entering the transfer portal.
The busy roster movement day, with the Brooks and Ridgeway announcements coming minutes apart, came five days after the Razorbacks capped a 9-4 season with a 24-10 win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl.
Ridgeway, a 6-5, 320-pounder who called himself the “Vanilla Gorilla” in his announcement, has a Senior Bowl invitation and the departure of the one-year graduate transfer from Illinois State was expected.
“This football season as a Razorback has been one of the best experiences of my life,” Ridgeway wrote in his public message. “To be part of this team has allowed me to grow as a football player and as a man.” Ridgeway closed his announcement by thanking his parents, coaches and fans and wrote: “Vanilla Gorilla Out.”
Brooks, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, was the second key member of the Arkansas secondary to depart in as many days, as safety Joe Foucha announced his decision to enter the portal on Wednesday.
In his departure announcement, Brooks said he wanted to thank, in part, coach Sam Pittman “and his staff for believing in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. I’ve made countless memories at the University of Arkansas and they will never be forgotten.”
Brooks, a native of New Orleans, earned a starting job as a freshman in 2019 and made his 30th career start in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Brooks finished seventh on the team with 48 tackles, and he added four pass breakups and one interception, an athletic tipdrill pick against Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. Foucha also intercepted Clifford and had a sack in the bowl game victory.
Brooks followed friend and teammate Devin Bush in the portal as the fifth Arkansas defensive back to make the move since the end of the regular season. The others were Foucha, redshirt freshman Nick Turner and true freshman Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan.
True freshman Jayden Johnson pushed Brooks for playing time starting about the mid point of the season, when he made starts against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Mississippi State and LSU in succession before Brooks re-claimed the starting role.
Brooks had four interceptions in 34 career games as a Razorback. The most impactful of those was a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown to open the scoring in Arkansas’ 21-14 upset at No. 16 Mississippi State last Oct. 3. That marked the first win of the Pittman era at Arkansas, and it snapped the Razorbacks’ 20-game Southeastern Conference losing streak.
Ridgeway led the defensive line and ranked ninth on the team with 39 tackles. He also had four tackles for loss, two sacks and one quarterback hurry.
The departures of Brooks and Ridgeway meant six of the Razorbacks’ top 10 tacklers, including four with eligibility remaining, would not be returning. Senior linebacker Bumper Pool, the team’s top tackler with 125, has set a deadline of today to announce whether he’ll return as a super senior in 2022 or declare for the NFL Draft.
Player movement has been steady since the season’s end for Arkansas and many other FBS programs, who are coping with the early years of the portal in addition to the first year of name, image and likeness opportunities.
Pittman projected recently that Arkansas would be able to reach the maximum signing number of 28 for the current incoming class based on losing seven players in the portal, and he was proved right. Brooks is the 11th known Razorback to enter the portal in recent weeks.