HawgBeat - Arkansas 2026 targets land in initial Rivals100 rankings
Some Arkansas targets landed among the best in the initial 2026 Rivals100 rankings Wednesday.
arkansas.rivals.com
The class of 2026 is still years down the road, but Arkansas is making inroads with some high-level athletes.
Rivals released its initial Rivals100 rankings for the 2026 class on Wednesday, and a couple of Arkansas targets found themselves among some of the best.
Neither of the Razorbacks' commits in the class — defensive back Tay Lockett or offensive lineman Bear McWhorter — made the cut for the list, but a few players the Hogs are in on did make the list.
Jackson Cantwell - Offensive Lineman - No. 3
Arkansas was one of the first to the table for the 6-foot-8, 300-pound product from southwest Missouri, extending an offer to Cantwell on March 4 during one of its Prospect Days on campus.
Since then, Cantwell has blown up to be one of the top recruits overall in the country, and was given five-star status by Rivals. He also holds offers from Georgia, Alabama, Florida State and others.
Cantwell will be on campus for an unofficial visit on Saturday when the Razorbacks take on the BYU Cougars at Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium.
DeZephen Walker - Running Back - No. 44
DeZephen Walker is one of the nation's premier high school running backs, and he checked in at No. 44 in the initial rankings.
Like Cantwell, Walker received the offer from Arkansas very early during one of the Hogs' Prospect Days on March 24. He's also added offers from Georgia, Missouri, Kansas State, Tennessee, Oregon and others since his recruitment took off.
It's worth noting one of Walker's teammates, four-star tight end Jaden Reddell, is already committed to Georgia in the class of 2024, so it's possible that gives the Bulldogs a leg up in Walker's recruitment.
Where Arkansas has an edge is in Bear McWhorter. The offensive lineman Arkansas commit told HawgBeat after he committed Walker was one of the players he was targeting to try to bring with him to Arkansas. The two played together in the FBU All-American Game last year.
