The Arkansas Razorbacks will be losing a pair of players going into the 2016 season. The two players, senior wide receiver Eric Hawkins and sophomore defensive back Willie Sykes, are both looking to take a transfer.
Head coach Bret Bielema spoke with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette at SEC Media Days and said that both players have been granted their releases from the school. He said that Hawkins has earned his degree and would be able to play football and run track immediately, wherever he ends up.
“Eric Hawkins has done everything right in our program,” Bielema said. “I just said, ‘Hey, you can go somewhere and be the guy.’ The schools he’s talking to, he could really go there and do something special. … And plus, run track. I think that’s factoring into it a little bit.”
Sykes would have to sit out the 2016 season and have three years of eligibility left starting in the 2017 season. He recorded nine tackles while playing primarily on special teams last season.
“I would expect (a transfer) someplace close to home,” Bielema said. “I think there’s some things he wants to be closer to home on. … It was a mutually agreed upon issue. Issues. Nothing bad. No failed things or anything that’s forcing the situation other than looking for the best fit.”
Arkansas are looking to make a big move in the SEC this year, but it looks like they will have to adjust to being without these players this year.
