Arkansas lands commitment from former FCS All-American, Fresno State transfer Raylen Sharpe

Former Fresno State receiver Raylen Sharpe announced his transfer commitment to Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks in a social media post Sunday.

Sharpe, a former FCS All-American at Missouri State, finished the 2024 season ranked second on the Bulldogs’ roster with 51 receptions for 523 yards and three touchdowns. He also added four carries for 67 yards, an average of 16.75 yards per carry this past season.

I’m not bout to go Hollywood the whole neighborhood gotta witness this. #wps pic.twitter.com/NSbNhqxUF1

— Raylen Sharpe (@SharpeRaylen) December 15, 2024

Sharpe would join a Razorbacks offense that enters the 2025 season in Year 2 under offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino and led by talented dual-threat quarterback Taylen Green, who announced his return to Fayetteville this past week.

Prior to transferring to Fresno State earlier this year, Sharpe posted a breakout 2023 with Missouri State, earning FCS All-American status with 73 receptions for 991 yards and seven touchdowns.

Sharpe began his college career at Houston, playing in one game during the 2021 season while also running on the track team for the Cougars. At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Sharpe’s speed is paramount.

Sharpe played high school football at Allen (Texas) High School, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1645 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Sam Pittman adamant Arkansas not losing transfers due to NIL

Sam Pittman says Arkansas does not have a problem with what is available for spending in NIL.

With 25 players for the Razorbacks officially in the portal, Pittman addressed how much that funding for name, image, and likeness had to do with that. He explained by noting the two different reasons that players choose to potentially transfer elsewhere.

“Been a lot of decision-making, you know,” Pittman said. “The portal comes two different ways. It comes by guys wanting to explore opportunities to go play somewhere where maybe they’re not able to play here. There’s the first one.

“The other one is financially. Obviously, they want to explore what their opportunities may be somewhere else financially. Then us as a staff. We’ve got to make all of those decisions on whether the financial asking price is what we determine the value of the player is,” Pittman added. “If it is then we try to keep them here. If it’s not then, obviously, we wish them well. If it’s strictly about the financial piece then we know, at that point, we’d be out of it.”

Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.