The Arkansas Razorbacks took a big hit for the off-season by losing several key defenders, especially at the linebacker position. It doesn't help that Arkansas will lose two of their best tacklers in Grant Morgan and Hunter Henry. They will return star outside linebacker Bumper Pool, who plays a significant amount of weakside linebacker.
The Razorbacks will look to develop their young players and recruit some key transfers for the upcoming season. On Sunday afternoon, former Alabama outside linebacker Drew Sanders announced that will be transferring to play for Arkansas this next season.
Sanders joined Alabama as a former five-star athlete and the 22nd rated high school prospect in the nation in the 202o National Recruiting Class. He was the third-rated prospect from the state of Texas.
After the season-ending injury to Alabama senior outside linebacker Christopher Allen, Sanders was asked to step up. The injury of Allen led to the rise of true freshman outside linebacker Dallas Turner. This past season, three games started for the Crimson Tide as they went all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Sanders accounted for 33 total tackles, 16 solo tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and two pass breakups. This season for Alabama, Sanders accounted for 24 total tackles, 12 solo tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and two pass breakups.
Sanders has been sparking interest from multiple power five schools that could utilize his knowledge of Alabama defense, experience, and his high-caliber potential. He was a key target for the University of Texas Longhorns, led by head coach and former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
The Razorbacks got a big addition to their defense, which took a big step in stopping some high-caliber offenses. Arkansas finished the 2021 College Football season ranked 39th in the nation in points allowed per game (22.9) and 54th in total yards allowed per game (355.8). It was the defense that took control of the game in wins over #15 Texas and #7 Texas A&M.
This next season, Sanders will be the prime candidate to become the Razorbacks' starting strongside linebacker. Sanders is efficient at quickly reading the ball carrier, making open-field tackles, staying in zone coverage schemes, playing man coverage against tight ends, or even being sent for blitzing schemes. Arkansas could be playing a more traditional 3-3-5 defensive front under defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
Having a dynamic defender like Sanders will allow Odom to open up different schemes that will open up other roles for players. One scheme, for example, would be putting Sanders as an outside linebacker at the line of scrimmage and pushing new transfer defensive end Landon Jackson from defensive end to a three-technique defensive tackle.
This is a big win for the Razorbacks and their fans, as other big-time players are noticing the huge off-season improvement from the 2020 season to the 2021 season. After the National Championship game ended, Arkansas finished the 2021 college football season ranked 21st in the AP Poll. They continue to gain respect as they rank in the "Way-too-early top 25" of the 2022 College Football season by multiple media outlets. Yahoo has Arkansas 19th in this poll, Athlon Sports has them at 18th, and ESPN has them ranked 20th.
With the addition of Sanders, they are bound to get more big names to join their program. They will have more than two weeks to finish their 2022 National Recruiting Class, with National Signing Day set for February 2nd.