Speed has been the buzzword in Fayetteville all summer, and the Razorbacks have found more of it.
A former Georgia sprinter is trading in his track spikes for a football jersey, and Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield confirmed the move during his fall camp preview on Monday.
Maurice Gleaton Jr. is now part of the Hogs’ wide receiver room heading into the season.
Gleaton’s path to Arkansas took some twists. He actually visited the Razorbacks back in November of 2024, though it was the previous coaching staff running things at the time.
He later took a trip to Georgia strictly to check out the track program and ended up signing with the Bulldogs, where he competed this past spring.
Football was never far from his story.
During his junior year at Langston Hughes High in Fairburn, Ga.,, Gleaton caught five passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns before he narrowed his focus to track full time.
That decision worked out. He became one of the fastest high schoolers in the nation, clocking a wind-aided 9.82 in the 100-meter dash last June.
He also finished sixth in the 100 at the USA Track and Field Championships with a 9.92, a mark that stood as an American U-20 record.
Track connections brought him back
Gleaton entered the transfer portal in June and returned to Arkansas to look at the track program again. But talks with Silverfield pointed him toward football instead.
The coach credited his bond with Arkansas track coach Doug Case for helping make it happen.
“He’s a world-class track athlete,” Silverfield said Monday. “(He) was most recently, previous institution in the SEC running track, and he actually was originally coming here to track, but he’s going to do both. I have a great relationship with Coach Case, and you know, he’s another receiver to add to that mix that just got here. Excited to see what he can do.”
Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey has talked about wanting speed since he came to Fayetteville with Silverfield from Memphis.
He laid out that philosophy to Hogs+ back in December, long before Gleaton’s name entered the picture.
“We can coach and we can develop skills, develop your mindset, we can educate you on the game,” Cramsey said. “If you are fast, you are fast. When you recruit fast guys then it becomes our job as an offensive staff to find a way to put the ball in your hands while you are running fast.”
A second sprinter joins him at receiver
Gleaton won’t be the only track convert in that room.
Jelani Watkins, who transferred in from LSU, brings similar wheels to the wide receiver spot and the return game. Watkins set four program records for the Razorbacks’ track team and helped it win three SEC titles and three NCAA medals this year.
He sat out spring practice under an arrangement with Silverfield that let him stay locked into track, though he did join summer team activities.
“For Jelani, we made a deal, obviously a world-class track athlete, that when he was at track, his focus could be at track,” Silverfield said. “Now, to the kid’s credit and the young man’s credit, he showed up at some of those winter workouts early in the mornings just to stand there and watch.”
Watkins played in five games across two seasons at LSU under Brian Kelly and caught two passes for 21 yards this past fall while adding two kick returns for 35 yards.
Silverfield said Watkins kept up on the mental side of football even while his mornings belonged to the track.
“Make sure you are studying the playbook when you have the chance on a Saturday night,” Silverfield said. “So, to his credit, it is not like he was that far behind. His first time actually jogging and running through routes were these OTAs. But to give him credit, he was pretty dialed in and smart.”
An opening in the receiver room after Jalen Brown’s dismissal from the roster gave Arkansas the scholarship space to bring Gleaton aboard, according to Silverfield.
“With Maurice, it was predominantly to come here for track, whereas Jelani was football and track, and then we talked with Maurice and his family, and said, ‘Hey, you want to come here?'” Silverfield said. “He obviously didn’t play last year, but it’s hard to pass up that type of speed.”
Key takeaways
- Maurice Gleaton Jr., a Georgia track transfer with a U-20 American record in the 100 meters, is joining Arkansas football’s wide receiver room for fall camp.
- Ryan Silverfield’s relationship with Arkansas track coach Doug Case played a key role in bringing Gleaton back to football.
- Gleaton joins fellow track transfer Jelani Watkins, giving the Razorbacks two sprinters trying to turn track speed into receiver production.
