Dabo Swinney Loses 4-Star Clemson Recruit To Arkansas
Dabo Swinney Loses 4-Star Clemson Recruit To Arkansas
Dabo Swinney Loses 4-Star Clemson Recruit To Arkansas
Dabo Swinney lost a 4-star Clemson recruit to Arkansas this past week.
Cornerback Xavier Kelly has decided to leave the Tigers behind.
On Tuesday, the highly-touted defensive specialist revealed that he was planning on transferring to the Razorbacks.
After three years at Clemson, Kelly now wants the opportunity to earn more significant playing time.
As a result of the depth on his now-former team’s roster, Kelly often found himself as the odd man out in the rotation.
That will likely change at Arkansas.
As a high school prospect, Kelly was considered the eighth best defensive end available and the top-ranked recruit coming out of the state of Kansas.
During his three seasons at Clemson, Kelly amassed 22 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.
Programs including Georgia Tech, Kansas State and North Carolina all made a play to acquire Kelly’s services, but ultimately Arkansas won out due to the opportunities available there on defense.
I will be finishing out my college career at the University of Arkansas‼️🐗#GodIsGood☝️#GoHogs#WPS
— xavier kelly (@xavierkelly22) February 18, 2020
“I will be finishing out my college career at the University of Arkansas,” Kelly tweeted out.
With one year of eligibility remaining, Kelly will be able to start with Arkansas this coming Fall. It will be interesting to see how new head coach Sam Pittman decides to utilize the young defensive star.
Ex-Missouri head coach Barry Odom was brought on board to serve as defensive coordinator for the Razorbacks, so he too will play a significant role in Kelly’s development next season.
In 2019 Arkansas went 2-10 on the year and finished dead last in the SEC. It remains to be seen if the addition of Kelly will help turn the Razorbacks’ fortunes around.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
