Arkansas offensive lineman withdraws name from NCAA transfer portal

The Jalen St. John story at Arkansas is not yet over. The redshirt freshman offensive lineman entered the transfer portal earlier this week but he has changed his mind. St. John’s name now has “withdrawn” next to it in the NCAA transfer portal.

Sam Pittman told the media on Monday that he was going to talk to Jalen St. John after the lineman failed to practice ahead of the Outback Bowl. Apparently, that discussion convinced the St. Louis, Missouri, native to reconsider his options.

St. John was a consensus 3-star prospect coming out of Trinity Catholic High School.

He chose Arkansas after a long recruitment by former offensive line coach Brad Davis at Missouri. Barry Odom and Brad Davis’s subsequent move to Arkansas ahead of signing day locked in his decision to become a Razorback.

Jalen St. John played a couple dozen snaps this season in two games but didn’t work his way into the main offensive line rotation. A return to Arkansas could mean a bigger role moving forward if he’s truly bought back into Sam Pittman’s vision.

Former Arkansas four-star enters portal

The Arkansas Razorbacks have had more than a handful of transfer portal entries over the past two weeks. Former four-star Arkansas wide receiver Darin Turner opted to put his name in the portal after two seasons on the Hill.

Turner took a redshirt year as a true freshman in 2020 after not playing in any games. He did not have any offensive statistics this season.

A former On3 Consensus four-star recruit, Turner originally chose Arkansas over Alabama, Clemson, LSU, and Auburn among others. Turner is a Memphis, Tennessee native, and he played high school football at Memphis Central.

Losing Turner to the portal is another tough blow to the depth in the Arkansas wide receiver room. Star wideout Treylon Burks recently announced his intentions of entering the NFL Draft.