Here's where the Hogs go from today's starting point...
arkansas.rivals.com
FAYETTEVILLE — When the dust settled Wednesday, the Razorbacks had signed 22 total players for the Class of 2022.
The group included 19 traditional high school signees, two transfers and one player from the Prokick Australia program. The class is currently ranked No. 12 nationally and No. 7 in the SEC, but that could change as commitments roll in at other schools across the country.
It was a relatively uneventful day for Arkansas, as head coach Sam Pittman said it went according to plan, but the program did land a public commitment from wide receiver Sam Mbake.
“You know, national signing day has really changed over the last few years,” Pittman said. “By about 7:30 or 7:15 it was over. We didn’t have any surprises so far.”
A few hours after Pittman met with the media, four-star cornerback target Laterrance Welch announced he’d stick with his pledge to LSU, ensuring the Razorbacks ended the day with 22 players officially signed.
Because they had originally anticipated being able to sign only 21 players in the class, Arkansas’ staff is already benefiting from the one-year waiver that allows them to bring in up to seven more.
The only requirement to get those extra spots is that players have to transfer out. The Razorbacks saw their number of transfers double Wednesday, so they’ve already unlocked six of those scholarships. One more departure would give them access to the full 28.
“What they're trying to do is not deplete your roster down to 60 people if you have guys transfer,” Pittman said. “Guys transfer for different reasons. They transfer if they're not starting, they transfer because they will never play, they will transfer because I'm not getting the ball enough.”
The focus now shifts to exactly how Arkansas will fill those remaining spots. Pittman indicated in his press conference that the team wasn’t quite done filling specific needs, point out the defensive line or linebacker positions.
Those players won’t necessarily be out of the portal, though. The Razorbacks are still actively recruiting high school kids. Most notably, four-star safety commit Myles Rowser decided to wait until Feb. 2, when - he told Rivals - he plans to sign with Arkansas.
Another potential target is Oklahoma defensive back commit Gentry Williams, who told The Tulsa World that he was also pushing his signing to the traditional February date so he could get to know the Sooners’ coaching staff better. If that doesn’t work out, he’s considering the Razorbacks and two unnamed schools.
Pittman didn’t rule out pursuing more transfers from the portal, either.
“We’re trying to get the best available, but there are spots of need that we say, ‘We have to get one of these, we have to get one of those,’” Pittman said. “So if we think the high school player is as good as anybody we can go out and get in the portal, we’re going high school. That’s just my belief.”
The Razorbacks have already signed Oklahoma wide receiver Jadon Haselwood and LSU defensive end Landon Jackson. Both of those players were highly regarded coming out of high school, rated as five- and four-star prospects, respectively, but that isn’t all Pittman is looking for.
When bringing in a transfer, he said he’d like someone who has already played in college rather than a former highly ranked player who had yet to see the field much in his career.
“I think you make big mistakes on, he was a five-star in high school and didn't go play over here, he hasn't played in a year or two, and then all of a sudden you are going to make him into something they couldn’t?” Pittman said. “Probably not going to work. I like to sign guys that I have seen play on the field in a college game.”
Of course, the portal works both ways. Even though only one more player has to transfer out to give Arkansas access to the full 28 spots for the 2022 class, there is a strong likelihood more than that will leave.
In fact, with 18 of the 22 players set to enroll midyear, there will need to be more turnover to make room for them in the spring. The Razorbacks had only nine true seniors in 2021 and Dalton Wagner has already announced he’s returning.
Pittman is hoping players like Bumper Pool, John Ridgeway and Montaric Brown choose to return as super seniors, but even if they all move on, that makes room for just eight players. Couple that with the minimum seven transfers and that’s only 15 spots open for early enrollees.
There are still a lot of moving parts, so it’s hard to put an exact number on how many players need to transfer out before next semester - and then again before next season - but Pittman is confident he and his staff will get the numbers worked out.
“I’ll bet you before we get over with we’ll be under 85,” Pittman said. “We have the board, do we have the numbers we need and all those things, but I’m about positive it’ll work itself out.”
Regardless how the class finishes up, it is already an improvement over last year. With 1,812 points in the Rivals recruiting ranking formula, Arkansas would have ranked 19th nationally in 2021 - compared to 25th, where it actually ended up.
Assuming Rowser sticks, the Razorbacks will tie their record for most Rivals250 signees in one class (5) during the ranking’s 17-year history. They’d also have six four-star recruits, which is more than their last two classes combined (4).
“I feel like each year we’re getting a little bit better in our classes,” Pittman said. “We certainly aren’t happy with where we are, but we’re getting a little bit better. I think we’ll continue to move up in those things.”
HawgBeat - How Arkansas plans to finish off 2022 class
When the dust settled Wednesday, the Razorbacks had signed 22 total players for the Class of 2022.
arkansas.rivals.com
FAYETTEVILLE — When the dust settled Wednesday, the Razorbacks had signed 22 total players for the Class of 2022.
The group included 19 traditional high school signees, two transfers and one player from the Prokick Australia program. The class is currently ranked No. 12 nationally and No. 7 in the SEC, but that could change as commitments roll in at other schools across the country.
It was a relatively uneventful day for Arkansas, as head coach Sam Pittman said it went according to plan, but the program did land a public commitment from wide receiver Sam Mbake.
“You know, national signing day has really changed over the last few years,” Pittman said. “By about 7:30 or 7:15 it was over. We didn’t have any surprises so far.”
A few hours after Pittman met with the media, four-star cornerback target Laterrance Welch announced he’d stick with his pledge to LSU, ensuring the Razorbacks ended the day with 22 players officially signed.
Because they had originally anticipated being able to sign only 21 players in the class, Arkansas’ staff is already benefiting from the one-year waiver that allows them to bring in up to seven more.
The only requirement to get those extra spots is that players have to transfer out. The Razorbacks saw their number of transfers double Wednesday, so they’ve already unlocked six of those scholarships. One more departure would give them access to the full 28.
“What they're trying to do is not deplete your roster down to 60 people if you have guys transfer,” Pittman said. “Guys transfer for different reasons. They transfer if they're not starting, they transfer because they will never play, they will transfer because I'm not getting the ball enough.”
The focus now shifts to exactly how Arkansas will fill those remaining spots. Pittman indicated in his press conference that the team wasn’t quite done filling specific needs, point out the defensive line or linebacker positions.
Those players won’t necessarily be out of the portal, though. The Razorbacks are still actively recruiting high school kids. Most notably, four-star safety commit Myles Rowser decided to wait until Feb. 2, when - he told Rivals - he plans to sign with Arkansas.
Another potential target is Oklahoma defensive back commit Gentry Williams, who told The Tulsa World that he was also pushing his signing to the traditional February date so he could get to know the Sooners’ coaching staff better. If that doesn’t work out, he’s considering the Razorbacks and two unnamed schools.
Pittman didn’t rule out pursuing more transfers from the portal, either.
“We’re trying to get the best available, but there are spots of need that we say, ‘We have to get one of these, we have to get one of those,’” Pittman said. “So if we think the high school player is as good as anybody we can go out and get in the portal, we’re going high school. That’s just my belief.”
The Razorbacks have already signed Oklahoma wide receiver Jadon Haselwood and LSU defensive end Landon Jackson. Both of those players were highly regarded coming out of high school, rated as five- and four-star prospects, respectively, but that isn’t all Pittman is looking for.
When bringing in a transfer, he said he’d like someone who has already played in college rather than a former highly ranked player who had yet to see the field much in his career.
“I think you make big mistakes on, he was a five-star in high school and didn't go play over here, he hasn't played in a year or two, and then all of a sudden you are going to make him into something they couldn’t?” Pittman said. “Probably not going to work. I like to sign guys that I have seen play on the field in a college game.”
Of course, the portal works both ways. Even though only one more player has to transfer out to give Arkansas access to the full 28 spots for the 2022 class, there is a strong likelihood more than that will leave.
In fact, with 18 of the 22 players set to enroll midyear, there will need to be more turnover to make room for them in the spring. The Razorbacks had only nine true seniors in 2021 and Dalton Wagner has already announced he’s returning.
Pittman is hoping players like Bumper Pool, John Ridgeway and Montaric Brown choose to return as super seniors, but even if they all move on, that makes room for just eight players. Couple that with the minimum seven transfers and that’s only 15 spots open for early enrollees.
There are still a lot of moving parts, so it’s hard to put an exact number on how many players need to transfer out before next semester - and then again before next season - but Pittman is confident he and his staff will get the numbers worked out.
“I’ll bet you before we get over with we’ll be under 85,” Pittman said. “We have the board, do we have the numbers we need and all those things, but I’m about positive it’ll work itself out.”
Regardless how the class finishes up, it is already an improvement over last year. With 1,812 points in the Rivals recruiting ranking formula, Arkansas would have ranked 19th nationally in 2021 - compared to 25th, where it actually ended up.
Assuming Rowser sticks, the Razorbacks will tie their record for most Rivals250 signees in one class (5) during the ranking’s 17-year history. They’d also have six four-star recruits, which is more than their last two classes combined (4).
“I feel like each year we’re getting a little bit better in our classes,” Pittman said. “We certainly aren’t happy with where we are, but we’re getting a little bit better. I think we’ll continue to move up in those things.”
