Six weeks removed from a loaded December signing day, the start of Arkansas State's regular signing period Wednesday was relatively understated.
The setup alone for Butch Jones' usual news conference said it all -- via Zoom from the head coach's office rather than in-person at the Red Wolves' facility -- although that was simply a product of the icy weather.
ASU announced nine additions to its 2023 class, joining 27 signees from the early period, with six of them coming via the transfer portal. The most notable name in the class is wide receiver Corey Rucker, a former record-setting Red Wolf who returns to Jonesboro after one quiet season at South Carolina, but the Bentonia, Miss., native is one of five incoming players who previously played at the power-conference level.
"We took our time [with transfers]. We made sure that not only were they quality people and good football players, we also looked at the leadership aspect," Jones said Wednesday. "I'm excited because we were able to help our team in terms of immediate needs through the transfer portal, and we'll look to continue to add there."
ASU's other former SEC signee comes in the form of 6-5, 300-pound offensive lineman Jalen Cunningham. A former three-star prospect, per 247Sports, Cunningham appeared in 46 games over four seasons after redshirting his freshman season at Ole Miss but made just one start in the offensive trenches.
With Cunningham's addition, that makes three new offensive linemen in this class alone who began their collegiate careers with the Rebels -- joining Tobias Braun and Hamilton Hall.
"It's probably a very unusual situation," Jones said of the Red Wolves' burgeoning Ole Miss-to-Jonesboro pipeline, while also pointing to the success of guard Jordan Rhodes, another former Rebel. "Our players have been our greatest ambassadors. ... They understand our program and the excitement, the ownership that they have in our program."
Although two of ASU's three high-school signees Wednesday will not be scholarship players, one who will be is quarterback Christian Hunt. The Redondo Beach, Calif., native is the 128th-ranked quarterback and a three-star prospect, per 247Sports.
Jones noted that in an ideal world, he'd have five scholarship quarterbacks on his roster. But given the growth of the transfer portal, it's more likely that teams will have either three or four.
Regardless, the Red Wolves entered the day with just two signal-callers: Redshirt freshman Jaxon Dailey and true freshman Jaylen Raynor.
Now, ASU has four, with J.T. Shrout officially joining Hunt, Dailey and Raynor.
Shrout, who spent two years at Tennessee before playing last season at Colorado -- he tore his ACL during the 2021 preseason with the Buffaloes -- will clearly be the most experienced come fall camp.
Dailey, who went through last year's spring camp as the Red Wolves' backup quarterback behind James Blackman, should get plenty of reps this spring. Shrout is expected to finish his undergraduate degree at Colorado and then enroll at ASU for summer classes.
"Jaxon has been here now...and then obviously, having Jaylen here [as an early enrollee] is going to really aid in his growth," Jones said. "J.T. is as talented an individual as there is, and then from a football intelligence standpoint, we'll continue to grow and develop him in the playbook."