With four of its top five pass catchers from last year not returning, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff hit the transfer portal hard looking for wide receivers and tight ends.
The Golden Lions added seven transfer wide receivers, easily the most of any position, all from four-year schools. UAPB also added two tight ends, one from a four-year school and one from junior college.
With six wide receivers returning from last year, that position joins quarterback as the only two groups where UAPB has more incoming transfers than returning players, not to mention the three high school receivers the Golden Lions signed.
Out of the top five pass catchers from last year, only senior Daemon Dawkins returns. He was the second-leading receiver behind Kenji Lewis, who transferred to Northern Illinois, with 24 catches for 199 yards.
Dawkins has been with UAPB since his freshman season in 2021. In three years, he has caught 63 passes for 696 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came his freshman season.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
After Dawkins, the next-best returning pass catcher who isn’t a running back is tight end Kevin English, who caught 10 passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
English is the only returning player who caught a touchdown pass last year.
To help replace the departing players, UAPB stayed in southeast Arkansas and added three transfers from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
The headliner amongst the three former Boll Weevils is JaVonnie Gibson. He was UAM’s third-leading receiver last season, catching 28 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns. He caught one of the two touchdown passes in UAPB’s spring game in late April, and head coach Alonzo Hampton praised him as a talented player.
Kristian Gammage, like Gibson, signed with UAPB during December’s early signing period. Gammage last year caught 14 passes for UAM for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Damarion Carter signed later after not playing last season at UAM. All three former Weevils were freshmen last year.
Bluefield State (W. Va.) transfer Cam Taylor caught five passes for 46 yards last season with the Division II school. He caught the other touchdown pass in UAPB’s spring game.
After spring practice ended, UAPB picked up three additional receiver commitments.
Florida A&M transfer Kareem Burke caught six passes for 113 yards and a touchdown as a freshman last season. He also rushed eight times for 85 yards and a touchdown. His best receiving performance came against Texas Southern when he caught three passes for 30 yards and a score.
Two Football Bowl Subdivision receivers decided to transfer to UAPB after not getting to play at their previous schools: Donovan Giles from Florida Atlantic and Aramoni Rhone from Ohio.
At tight end, junior college transfer Livingston Coaty Jr. is coming off a sophomore year in which he caught five passes for 86 yards. He didn’t score a touchdown last season but scored one as a freshman.
Although UAPB more than doubled its wide receiver corps through the transfer portal, several new additions came after spring practice, and most didn’t get significant playing time at their previous stops. Gibson and Gammage seem primed to join Dawkins as consistent targets, but the rest are largely unproven.
Still, if the Golden Lions can identify a quality starting quarterback in fall camp, they may need only a couple to breakout to give UAPB’s offense a chance to succeed through the air.