Linebacker Jayden "JJ" Shelton, who visited Arkansas last Saturday for the Red-White Game, committed to the Razorbacks on Monday.
Shelton, 6-1 and 200 pounds, of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas had scholarship offers from Arkansas, Ohio State, Auburn, Notre Dame, TCU, Baylor, SMU, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, Stanford, Oklahoma, Nebraska and others.
He received his offer from the Razorbacks in May 2023 from defensive coordinator Travis Williams, who was his lead recruiter. Assistant linebackers coach Jake Trump was also involved in the recruitment of Shelton.
Shelton is a consensus 3-star prospect by the four major recruiting services. ESPN rates him the No. 13 inside linebacker for the 2025 class.
He recorded 119 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 1sack, 1quarterback hurry and 2 interceptions while helping the Bears a Texas 5A D-II state runner-up finish last season.
Shelton had 56 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 1 interception as a sophomore on South Oak Cliff’s second consecutive Texas 5A D-II state championship.
“JJ is a phenomenal player,” South Oak coach Michael Traylor said. “A high instinct, a high motor kid high football IQ. The kid can play any of the linebacker spots, could possibly play safety. Runs a 4.5 [40-yard dash]. A former track kid. His mom is the head girls’ track coach at [Dallas] Skyline High School about 15 minutes away. “
Traylor called Shelton a natural leader and someone who could see the field immediately
“I was shocked a couple weeks ago when he told me his top five because Arkansas beat out Texas, they beat out [Texas] A&M, they beat out USC,” Traylor said.
Shelton has an official visit set for Arkansas on June 21-23. He also set visits to TCU, Baylor and SMU prior to his pledge to the Hogs.
Shelton is the fourth commitment for Arkansas in the 2025 class.