Maleek Barkley to transfer from Arkansas

Maleek Barkley runs a drill Thursday, March 1, 2018, during Arkansas spring football practice at the Fred W. Smith Football Center in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Maleek Barkley is transferring from the Arkansas football program, he announced Thursday.

Barkley redshirted during his freshman season.

In February, Chad Morris said Barkley had been moved from running back to wide receiver. Barkley was a consensus three-star prospect out of Austin (Texas) Lake Travis High School and evaluated as a top 100 receiver by 247Sports and ESPN.

He was also a top 100 player in Texas, according to Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN. Scout rated him the No. 89 running back in the nation in the 2017 class.

Lake Travis was Morris' last high school head coaching job, and Barkley's high school coach, Hank Carter, played and coached for Morris.

Barkley is the fifth scholarship player to transfer since the end of Arkansas’ spring practice. Jake Hall announced last month that he will transfer to SMU under the NCAA’s graduate exemption. Tight end Will Gragg is transferring to Pittsburgh and Reid Miller is going to Montana. Korey Hernandez is transferring to Iowa Western.

Three other Arkansas players – Jake Heinrich, Zach Rogers, Kofi Boateng – have stepped away from football since mid-January.

Heinrich announced his retirement on Jan. 22 following a series of injuries and, four days prior, Rogers opted to pursue a career in law enforcement. Last week, Boateng declared his intent to retire from football after knee injuries plagued his two years at Arkansas.