Red Wolves Complete 2026 Signing Class with 33 New Additions
Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones announced Wednesday on National Signing Day that the Red Wolves added a high school signee, a junior college signee and 31 transfers to the 2026 signing class.
Although only one of the 33 players announced Wednesday is a high school recruit, Arkansas State has 21 total high school signees in the class. It marks the fourth straight season the Red Wolves have signed at least 20 high school players.
The rest of the class is transfer heavy. Arkansas State added 38 transfers overall, including 18 from the FBS, 11 from the FCS, two from NCAA Division II programs and seven from the junior college ranks. Combined with nine early enrollees announced in December, 47 newcomers will be available for the Red Wolves’ spring camp.
Since the December early signing period, Arkansas State added 13 offensive players. The newcomers include quarterbacks Drew Dickey (Vanderbilt), Jaden Haly (Sacred Heart), Trey Owens (Texas) and Jérémy St-Hilaire (Vanderbilt), running backs Ezell Jolly (Kilgore College/UTEP) and Corey Reddick (Valdosta State), wide receiver Boski Barrett (Vanderbilt), tight ends Joshua Burrell (Furman) and Jaden Hamm (Kansas), and offensive linemen Landry Cannon (Tulane), Talan Chandler (Northwestern/Missouri), Manasse Itete (Florida State) and Sterling Wiggins (North Carolina A&T).
Defensively, the Red Wolves added 16 players, including defensive linemen Sultan Badmus (Temple), Tyeland Coleman (Florida State), Sam Hultz (Pittsburg State), Nicolas Kalume (Maine), Donquarius Parker (North Carolina Central), Elias Sherman (Maine), AJ Thomas (McNeese State/Tulane) and Shakai Woods (Middle Tennessee). Linebackers Kam Moore (UCF), Joshua Ofor (NC State) and Tre Stevens (Lafayette College) also joined the class, along with defensive backs Noah Flores (Utah State), Dontrae Henderson (Indiana), Jaylen Heyward (UCF), Bryson Ross (Portland State) and Makai Shahid (Youngstown State).
Arkansas State also signed long snapper Riley Smith (Furman) and punter Daniel Vuckovic (Northern Illinois).
The full class includes 59 players, and the program said 57 reached the state playoffs during their high school careers. Arkansas State said 41 players were rated at least a three-star prospect by 247Sports, ESPN, On3 or Rivals coming out of high school, including five who received four-star distinction. All 21 high school signees are rated as three-star recruits.
By position, the class includes 26 offensive players, 31 defensive players and two specialists. Arkansas State added 24 players in the trenches — nine offensive linemen and 15 defensive linemen — along with seven linebackers, six wide receivers, five safeties, four quarterbacks, four running backs, four cornerbacks, three tight ends, a punter and a long snapper.
Geographically, the class features nine players from Texas, eight from Mississippi, seven from Georgia, six each from Florida and Tennessee, three from Louisiana, two from Alabama and North Carolina, and one each from Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Washington, D.C. The class also includes signees from Canada, Ireland and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.