Alabama transfer edge Drew Sanders commits to Arkansas

After taking visits to see the Arkansas Razorbacks, Oklahoma Sooners, and Texas Longhorns since entering the NCAA transfer portal on Tuesday, Alabama Crimson Tide transfer edge Drew Sanders announced his commitment to the Razorbacks on Sunday.

Sanders visited Fayetteville on Wednesday.

A consensus five-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting class, Sanders was ranked as the No. 22 player nationally and the No. 1 athlete, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. At Denton Ryan, Sanders played a number of different positions, including quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, and several roles on defense.

After arriving at Alabama, Sanders mostly contributed on special teams as a freshman before earning a larger role on defense in 2021. Against Miami, Sanders totaled six tackles, then earned his first career start against Mercer with two tackles and two broken up passes. However, an injury suffered against Ole Miss early in SEC play limited his playing time for the rest of the season. Sanders finished the year with 24 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups.

The decision by Sanders to commit to Arkansas marks the second miss for Texas at the edge position in the transfer portal following the decision by Albany transfer Jared Verse to head to Florida State.

But there is still a big name on the market — TCU transfer Ochaun Mathis, who could opt to rejoin his former head coach Gary Patterson if Patterson decides to join the Texas program as an assistant to the head coach, a move that could become official in the next several days.