2020 3-Star Georgia DE Jaqualin McGhee Commits to Arkansas Razorbacks
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
The new Arkansas Razorbacks coaching staff got a belated Christmas present on Saturday with the announcement of Jaqualin McGhee committing to the Hogs. The three-star Peach County High School defensive end is that prototypical strong-side end that seals the edge against the run and creates chaos in the backfield on passing downs, a welcomed addition for defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
McGhee closed out his senior season in style helping his Trojans squad to a 12-1 finish with a three-game run into Georgia’s 3A playoffs. In stats posted through 10 games, McGhee tallied 65 stops, 46 solo, with 19 tackles for a loss, eight sacks, and 11 QB hurries during his senior campaign. McGhee is versatile in the trenches able to line up on the right or left. Against the run, he squeezes the action inside and gets up field against run-pass schemes forcing quarterbacks to make quick decisions with a 6-4, 255-pound, defender in their face. On passing downs, McGhee has a motor that does not quit working to collapse the pocket using a variety of moves including a stab, swim, and bull-rush.
Jaqualin McGhee’s Arkansas commitment announcement
The three-star recruit has seven total scholarship offers reported coming from Appalachian State, Kansas State, South Alabama, Troy, and West Virginia. The Razorbacks offered on Dec. 12 landing him 16 days later. McGhee is set to take his official visit to Fayetteville on Jan. 17.
After the dismissal of head coach Chad Morris during the season, the Razorbacks’ 2020 recruiting class took a hit losing eight verbal commitments falling to 116th nationally in the rankings. Since Sam Pittman’s Dec. 8 announcement as the Hogs new head coach, the staff has been working hard to make up for lost time. With six commitments going into the early signing period, Arkansas now has 11 commits including four-star safety Myles Slusher and four-star receiver Darin Turner. The class is now ranked 67th in the nation. McGhee is the third defensive end in Arkansas’ current recruiting haul (Blayne Toll and Julius Coates) coupled with three outside linebackers (Kelin Burrle, Catrell Wallace, and Jashaud Stewart).
Photo credit: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman