Photo courtesy of Bowling Green Communication's Office
By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Sunday was a good day for Sam Pittman and his staff as they landed one of the top wide receivers in the transfer portal as well in addition to keeping the top in-state player in the fold.
Former Bowling Green wide receiver Tyrone Broden, 6-7, 210, chose Arkansas over Penn State and Oklahoma. Broden entered the transfer portal on Jan. 1 and the Razorbacks offered the next day. He took official visits to all three of his finalists.
In 2022, Broden caught 32 passes for 506 yards and seven touchdowns. In his career, Broden had caught 74 passes for 1,199 yards and 12 touchdowns.
In addition to the Hogs, OU and Penn State, Broden has gained offers from Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Houston, West Virginia, Colorado, Washington State, Syracuse and Pitt.
Arkansas had previously landed two receivers from the transfer portal as well as a preferred walk-on. The Razorbacks also signed a high school wide receiver. Arkansas also has landed Hillsdale (Mich.) College's Isaac TeSlaa, 6-4, 210, and Texas A&M-Commerce's Andrew Armstrong, 6-5, 189. In addition, former University of Memphis wide receiver Marlon Crockett, 6-4, 210, who was also a prep standout at Searcy and Cabot, will be a preferred walk-on with the Hogs. The Hogs signed Moody (Ala.) three-star Davion Dozier, 6-4, 195, in the early signing period.
The receivers are needed since Arkansas lost its top four receivers, including tight end Trey Knox, following the 2022 season. Jadon Haselwood and Matt Landers are headed to the 2023 NFL Draft. Knox transferred to South Carolina and Ketron Jackson chose Baylor.
Broden is a midterm recruit with two years remaining to play. He played high school football at Detroit (Mich.) West Bloomfield. He will begin classes at Arkansas this week.
In addition, the top recruit in Arkansas four-star tight end Shamar Easter, 6-5, 225, visited Arkansas on Sunday and solidified his pledge.
Easter, 6-5, 225, committed to Arkansas on Aug. 13, 2021. However, he grew close to his lead recruiter Dowell Loggains, who left following the season to become offensive coordinator at South Carolina.
Easter is a four-star recruit and rated the top prospect in the state with some of the recruiting services. He opted not to sign early, but following a visit where he got to spend time with Morgan Turner, Arkansas’ new tight ends coach, he tweeted out he’s a 100-percent locked in. He had also taken an official visit to South Carolina. His official visit to Arkansas was June 10-12.
Both Easter and Dozier will enroll at Arkansas in late May or early June. All the portal recruits and high school signees, with eight exceptions, are beginning classes at Arkansas this week.
Photo courtesy of Bowling Green Communication's Office