Arkansas brought in more than 40 transfers this offseason, and not all of the names that end up mattering will come with the loudest buzz. The portal can work that way. Sometimes the players who shift a depth chart are the ones who arrived with less hype, not more.
That’s the lane for a few Razorbacks newcomers who could carve out real roles this fall, even if most fans are still focused on bigger headlines like Jahiem Johnson, Hunter Osborne and Chris Marshall. There’s room for quieter breakout stories here, the kind that sneak up once the games start.
One of the more natural fits is Tennessee State wide receiver Zavion Hawkins, a Memphis transfer who already knows the offense and should be able to plug in without much of a learning curve. Hawkins worked his way into the Tigers’ starting rotation and finished second on the team with 38 catches for 623 yards and two touchdowns.
His background gives you a better sense of the player Arkansas is getting. Hawkins was a 3-star prospect out of Baker High School in Mobile, Ala., and closed his high school career with 59 receptions for 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns as a second-team all-state selection. He stuck with Memphis since arriving in 2022, which says something about his patience and his belief in Silverfield and the staff that recruited him.
On the defensive side, cornerback TJ Scott is a name that stands out because of where he came from and how little he’s actually been able to play. A 6-foot-1, 202-pound former Auburn signee, Scott arrived as a 4-star prospect in the 2023 class and was ranked among the top-200 recruits nationally. He appeared in five games as a true freshman, logged two tackles and kept his redshirt intact.
Then came the setback that changed everything. Scott missed the entire 2024 season with an ACL tear suffered during a summer workout, entered the portal after the year and ended up closer to home at Georgia State. He played in two games there as a redshirt sophomore, making four tackles in his first appearance against South Alabama on Oct. 23 and then seeing action against Marshall without much statistical impact.
What makes Scott interesting is the way he was viewed coming out of high school. He was an Under Armour All-American who picked Auburn over offers from Texas, USC, LSU, Michigan, Alabama, Miami and plenty of others. Arkansas defensive coordinator Ron Roberts crossed paths with him at Auburn and said during the spring that the Tigers probably never had him in the best spot.
“[Scott's] a guy that, when we had him at Auburn, I thought he should have been playing star (hybrid nickelback), and then we, out of necessity, he was playing corner,” Roberts said during the spring. “So I never thought he really got an opportunity to be in his best situation when we recruited him.
"That’s what he thought he was. Then it came out, there was a couple of injuries and stuff like that, and he really didn’t play.”
If Scott stays healthy and keeps his focus, there’s a path for him to get into the mix in Arkansas’ rebuilt secondary.
Linebacker Taurean Jackson is another transfer who could end up helping more than people expect. He flashed right away for Baylor last season, making 11 tackles in his debut against Auburn before an injury against Stanford in Week Three shut him down for the rest of the year.
Jackson’s road to the SEC has been a long one. He started as a walk-on at Fresno State and then put together a strong 2023 season, finishing with 34 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one interception on a Bulldogs team that went 9-4. He followed that with an even bigger 2024, posting 48 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions and a pick six in 11 games.
Roberts said Jackson missed most of the spring with an unspecified injury, but still believes he can be part of the competition at linebacker once fall camp arrives. With Arkansas still looking for proven depth at that spot, Jackson’s experience could matter fast.
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