3/15/2020 football Edit

Arkansas transfer RB will reschedule visit to Indiana

Taylor Lehman • TheHoosier

Staff

With two years of eligibility remaining, Arkansas transfer running back Chase Hayden had scheduled a visit with Indiana for March 27 before freshman running back Sampson James entered and removed his name from the transfer portal and before COVID-19 forced the NCAA to halt recruiting activity until at least April 15.

He still intends to visit Indiana, as well as Houston and Tennessee, when the time comes.

SPECIAL OFFER: get a $49.50 gift card to Rivals Fan Shop with new annual subscription!

Arkansas graduate transfer running back Chase Hayden maintains his intention to make an official visit to Indiana, he told TheHoosier.com, despite the return of Indiana running back Sampson James and his originally scheduled visit being postponed due to the recent NCAA-mandated dead period.

The date for his next visit, like most dates on any sport's calendar at this point, is unknown.

"Yes, I definitely still plan on visiting," he said.

When Rivals.com broke the news on March 2 of Hayden's intended visit to Indiana, as well as intended visits to Houston and Tennessee, Indiana freshman running back Sampson James had just submitted his name into the NCAA transfer portal earlier that day.

James' intent to transfer meant Indiana was on its way to losing its fourth running back to transfer since the 2018 season ended, after Ivory Winters, Cole Gest and Ronnie Walker had all entered the transfer portal as well. The Hoosiers had seen supreme running back depth dwindle to two scholarship running backs, in sophomore Stevie Scott and mid-year 2020 enrollee Tim Baldwin.

The James news came on the heels of the news that the strength and conditioning tandem of Matt Rhea and David Ballou – who has a strong relationship with James dating back to their time at Avon – was leaving Indiana for Alabama. But by the following weekend, sources confirmed to TheHoosier.com that Indiana had hired former New York Giants strength coach Aaron Wellman as its next strength and conditioning coach and James had removed his name from the transfer portal.

Once events and panic began to settle down around the program, COVID-19 hit the NBA and NCAA basketball, and eventually all other sports leagues, and forced the NCAA, the Big Ten and all programs alike to halt team activities until at least April 6 and recruiting activities until at least April 15.

Many prospects saw spring plans washed away with the enforced dead period, and nearly all spring games have been canceled. Hayden was one of those prospects to see his visits canceled or postponed – including his visit to Bloomington on March 27 – as all three scheduled visits fell inside the dead period.

Despite all of the unexpected and unprecedented circumstances surrounding the back-end of Hayden's change in location, he began his plans long before the report of James' name entering the portal, he said, and certainly before the spread of COVID-19.

"I’m very interested in Indiana," Hayden told TheHoosier.com on March 2. "I watched them in their bowl game. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Coach (Nick) Sheridan, Coach (Mike) Hart and Coach (Tom) Allen."

Hayden also noted that he wants to find a place that can use his skillset – shiftiness and a combination of speed and power – to its highest degree before his final two years of eligibility are finished.

Hayden signed with Arkansas in 2017 out of St. George's High School in Germantown, Tennessee, the same area of Memphis as current Indiana cornerback Jaylin Williams. He was rated as a four-star all-purpose back and No. 169 nationally, and he stood out during The Opening Finals before committing to Arkansas before his senior season. He rushed for 2,625 yards and 37 touchdowns as a junior in high school.

During his three seasons at Arkansas, though, Hayden has seen five different head coaches. He committed and signed to Bret Bielema's program until Bielema was fired after 2017 and Paul Rhoads took over in interim for part of the offseason. Chad Morris took over for two seasons before going 4-18 and being replaced by Barry Lunney Jr. for the final two games of the 2019 season. Sam Pittman was named the new head coach in Fayetteville on Dec. 8. Rather than undergo another philosophical change at Arkansas, Hayden elected to find a new place to play.

In his three seasons, Hayden has totaled 616 yards and five touchdowns, but in 2019, he was limited to four games, preserving another year of eligibility. Wherever he chooses to play, he will have two years remaining and will be available for 2020.