Hogs have pair of small, shifty wide receivers from portal

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas added a pair of small, shifty wide receivers from the transfer portal in January.

Both Kam Shanks, 5-8, 170, from UAB and Raylen Sharpe, 5-9, 165, from Fresno State have stood out in the four practices held this spring. Both made a big impact at their previous schools.

Shanks was a first-team All-America punt returner. He returned 16 punts for 329 yards and two touchdowns. At wide receiver, Shanks caught 62 passes for 656 yards and six touchdowns. He rushed eight times for 50 yards.

Sharpe caught 51 passes for 523 yards and three touchdowns in his lone season at Fresno State. He previously played at Missouri State where in 2023 he caught 73 passes for 991 yards and seven touchdowns.

During Saturday’s scrimmage in the stadium Shanks scored on a 25-yard touchdown run. He caught a 15-yard touchdown pass for UAB against Arkansas last season. Quarterback KJ Jackson hit Sharpe for a nice gain on Saturday. Defensive end Quincy Rhodes Jr. talked about what it’s like to defend that pair when they have the football in their hands.

“They definitely are speedsters, if you would say that,” Rhodes said. “They have great vision. Just understanding your alignment as, and assignment for a d-end setting edges and doing all that crazy things. If you’re not where you’re supposed to be when they’ve got the ball, they will make you miss and they will score. Great vision, great speed. Very physical at the point of contact. Those guys got a bright future.”

Running back Braylen Russell also has been impressed with the pair.

“Piggy-backing off what he said, they’re fast,” Russell said. “With me sometimes having to lead block for them, they’re beating me to the spot. They’re fast, so I’ve got to do my job and get there before they can get there. Yeah, they’re fast and they’re going to be real good in this offense. Got to work everyday and understand the playbook more.”

Sharpe was asked about going from Missouri State to Fresno State to now Arkansas. This has been the biggest jump in classification for him, but that isn’t anything that concerns him.

“To be honest, that’s a hard question because I feel like my level of play has been higher than where I’ve been at,” Sharpe said. “I feel like now I’m in the SEC, it’s where I’m supposed to be. But you could say speed wise, playing more man when you get to the FBS level, SEC level. There’s a lot more man. Missouri State, it was a lot of zone, cover 3, cover 4. You just have to find zones. But I feel like being at Fresno and being in the SEC, it’s pretty much man. Man against man. I think that’s the biggest difference. The size I think is the biggest thing, but I’ve been small all my life, so it’s not really anything to me.”

At Missouri State, Sharpe played for Bobby Petrino and Ronnie Fouch, who coaches the wide receivers now at Arkansas. Petrino is the offensive coordinator.

“To be honest, I didn’t know I knew the playbook that well,” Sharpe said. “When they started speaking it again, it all came back to my memory. They’ve got some new stuff that I’ve got to get a grasp on, but everything else has been pretty good, so that’s why the first two days I’ve been able to play fast and just play within myself.”

On Saturday, Taylen Green had a pass intercepted by Ahkhari Johnson. Jackson threw an interception that was picked off by safety Caleb Wooden. JJ Shelton intercepted a pass thrown by Madden Iamaleava.

Running back Mike Washington had a nice touchdown run in the red zone during the scrimmage Saturday. Washington transferred to Arkansas from New Mexico State. Russell has been impressed with the newcomer.

“We clicked instantly,” Russell said. “I try to introduce myself to everybody on the team because there’s a lot of players on the team. So lot of new faces. So I go around trying to make friends. We’re on the same team. We’re gonna be [with] each other for two or three more years, however long they got, I got. So seeing the new faces and everything we just trying to make friends with everybody, and Mike, we click instantly. I rode with him a couple of times. Take a drive somewhere.”