FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas filled its 25th and final scholarship available for the 2020 recruiting cycle on Monday when former Clemson defensive tackle Xavier Kelly announced he will transfer to the Razorbacks.
Kelly, 6-4, 305, chose the Hogs over other potential transfer destinations in Kansas State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Nebraska and others to become Arkansas’ fifth grad-transfer commitment this offseason.
The Wichita (Kan.) native will have one year of immediate eligibility remaining when he enrolls at the UA later this spring.
“Obviously just going to the best situation,” Kelly said when asked why he chose the Razorbacks. “I have aspirations of going to the next level. That has always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. Going to the best situation which will help me get there.”
Kelly, who was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2016, announced his decision to enter the transfer portal on January 18 and arrived in Fayetteville for an official visit exactly two weeks later.
He was recruited to Arkansas by new defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc, who is looking for immediate help after the Razorbacks lost former defensive tackle starters McTelvin Agim and T.J. Smith to graduation after last season.
“He seems like a good guy,” Kelly said of LeBlanc. “We got a chance to do some football stuff. He got a chance to show me his teaching style and he seems to know what he is talking about.
“Yes, they definitely did [talk about the need for immediate help]. They expressed to me how much there is a need.”
At Clemson, Kelly was considered a career reserve for a program that won national championships in the 2016 and 2018 seasons.
He totaled 256 career snaps in 28 games played and finished his career with 26 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 2 sacks while playing behind some of the nation’s most decorated interior defensive linemen.
Kelly is joining quarterback Feleipe Franks (Florida), cornerback Jerry Jacobs (Arkansas State), linebacker Levi Draper (Oklahoma), and kicker AJ Reed (Duke).
Franks and Jacobs enrolled at midterm and will be able to go through spring drills, which begin on Monday, March 16.
Draper, Reed and Kelly are still fulfilling transfer requirements at their respective institutions and are expected to officially make the move to Arkansas by the beginning of summer, although there’s still an outside shot that Kelly may be able to finish his work and transfer by the second portion of the spring semester.
Kelly fills Arkansas’ 25th scholarship available for the 2020 class, which means the Razorbacks are now unlikely to sign verbally committed running back Ebony Jackson of Canton (Ga.) Cherokee.
Jackson, 6-1, 205, pledged to the Hogs in January but did not sign a National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day as Sam Pittman’s staff chose to wait and evaluate his off-the-field performance for the remainder of the semester.
Adding Kelly as the final signee also means the Razorbacks may have to get creative at the tight end position, where they’ll enter the 2020 season with just three scholarship players in senior Blake Kern, redshirt-freshman Hudson Henry, and 2020 signee Collin Sutherland.
Arkansas will practice on March 16, 18 and 20 before taking spring break the following week.
Following the break, the Razorbacks will go four straight weeks with practices every Tuesday and Thursday, with this year’s spring game falling on Saturday, April 25.
The spring game’s location is still to be determined between Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.