Arkansas football loses transfer commitment Var’Keyes Gumms

Var’Keyes Gumms was committed to Arkansas football for just nine days before having a change of heart.

The North Texas transfer tight end has officially de-committed from the Razorbacks, according to 247Sports.com’s Chris Hummer. Gumms originally committed to Arkansas on April 23 after having visited Fayetteville the previous weekend.

Gumms was a major addition for the Razorbacks at the time of his commitment. The redshirt freshman finished the 2022 season with 34 catches for 458 yards and five touchdowns for North Texas. His impressive season earned him first team All-Conference-USA and second team Conference-USA All-Freshman honors.

Having a player like Gumms added to a very young and inexperienced tight end room was important for Arkansas heading into next season. Now, Arkansas will either need to add another transfer tight end or rely on one of Luke Hasz (true freshman), Shamar Easter (true freshman) or Ty Washington (redshirt freshman).

Shortly before news broke of his de-commitment, Gumms posted a tweet that he was taking an official visit to the University of California this weekend. That means his de-commitment likely isn’t a complete surprise to the Arkansas coaching staff.

I’ll be in Cal this weekend!! 🐻 pic.twitter.com/YVVcvulABq

— Keys 🔑 (@varkeyesg) May 2, 2023

The second transfer window of the off-season closed on April 30 – meaning players can no longer enter the portal with immediate eligibility. However, teams can still add transfers from the portal as late as they want. So, Sam Pittman and the Arkansas staff have plenty of time to look for another option at tight end.