After four years playing out of state, one of Jefferson County’s sons is among a slew of new transfers settling in at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Senior defensive tackle Antonio Johnson was a White Hall Bulldog during his high school days. He signed with Memphis out of high school but redshirted in 2020 before transferring to Northeastern State, a Division II program in Tahlequah, Okla.
After three years with the River Hawks, Johnson is back in Arkansas looking to make an impact with the Golden Lions.
“It feels good to be home,” Johnson said. “All the support, just glad to be out here with my guys. Glad to be here around family, just all the love that’s going to be around the city. The chemistry, just everything about here.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Johnson, now one of seven Jefferson County natives on UAPB’s roster, appeared in 29 games during his three years with NSU, totaling 79 tackles and eight tackles for loss.
Last season, he had 4.5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.
He is expected to play a major role this season as one of the many incoming transfers now on the UAPB roster.
On the other side of the ball, UAPB signed three transfer wide receivers from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Two of them, JaVonnie Gibson and Kristian Gammage, were among the Boll Weevils’ top five receivers last season as freshmen.
Gibson was third on the team with 28 catches for 403 yards and four touchdowns, while Gammage caught 14 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
The third transfer from UAM, Damarion Carter, redshirted.
Both Gammage and Gibson are expected to be among quarterback Mekhi Hagens’ leading targets, and Gibson said it is great to have Gammage alongside him.
“That’s like my brother, man,” Gibson said, calling Gammage “really a brother from another mother. Me and him on the field, it’s going to be special.” Gammage is “really good, too,” he added.
The search for transfers wasn’t limited to local or regional talent. UAPB found players from places as far away as California, Florida and New Jersey.
One such transfer is offensive lineman Keavius Barnes, a graduate transfer from Benedict College, a Columbia, S.C., HBCU.
Barnes’ career has been limited by injuries, but he comes from a successful program. Benedict won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship last year and received a first-round bye in the Division II playoffs, though it lost to a Lenoir-Rhyne team that went on to make the semifinals.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 290-pound lineman said the relationship he built with UAPB offensive line coach Steve Wallace brought him to Pine Bluff.
“Me and Coach Wallace got a bond with each other,” Barnes said. “So it’s like, stuff me and him talked about with the future and everything, I just got myself to the point where I trust in him out of all the coaches and just wanted to come play with him and ball out with him and Coach (Alonzo) Hampton.”
Hampton is entering his second season as UAPB head coach. Throughout the offseason, even as late as SWAC Media Day in July, he has emphasized the importance of recruiting and building the roster as he seeks to turn around a program which hasn’t had a winning season since the Spring 2021 SWAC West championship.
Bringing in that talent was the first step. From there, he and his staff had to take a large group of newcomers and merge them into the existing roster to form a team.
One of his returning players is defensive lineman Elijah Jenkins, who will likely play alongside Johnson this year. Jenkins said even with so many newcomers, the team chemistry is strong entering the 2024 season.
“It’s the small details off the field that’s gonna make you big on the field,” Jenkins said. “So, just sitting with somebody new at lunch. Getting to know his name, getting to know his story, getting to know where he comes from, why he plays football, everything. It’s the small things that make up the big details.”
UAPB opens the season Thursday against Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.